woman and life

the miracles of "chinese bamboo" in your life

2011-11-09T16:09:00.000+07:00

all of us must have dreams
dreams of your own
dreams for your loved one
dreams for your family

have you ever feel so tired?
tired to work days after days
yet not so promising results afterall

have you ever feel so hopeless?
seeing there is no so much improvements
'though you've put all best efforts in

have you ever blame yourself?
thinking if you've done everything right
assuming you performing things differently

have you ever feel so much despair?
feeling your dreams are so far away?

what are you willing to do,
to make your dreams come true?
how long are you willing to work?
how long are you willing to take action?
how long are you willing,
to push past your fear and doubt?
how much faith and belief,
are you willing to have?

i hope your answer is one -
that will help you achieve
all you dream of in life!

as you continue to dream,
do so knowing that
SOMEONE BELIEVES IN YOU
to make sure you understand
the Miracle of Chinese Bamboo
because they believe you can create
miracles in YOUR own life!

have the passion and perseverance.
it's the key to achieve your dreams!

thank you to the Jenkins - for this valuable sharing

The Wallet ~ Story of Hannah

2011-10-25T01:13:00.000+07:00

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled
on a wallet someone had lost in the street.
I picked it up and looked inside to find some
identification so I could call the owner. But
the wallet contained only three dollars and a
crumpled letter that looked as if it had
been in there for years.

The envelope was worn and the only thing that
was legible on it was the return address. I
started to open the letter, hoping to find
some clue. Then I saw the dateline--1924.
The letter had been written almost
sixty years ago.

It was written in a beautiful feminine
handwriting on powder blue stationery with
a little flower in the left-hand corner.
It was a "Dear John" letter that told the
recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael,
that the writer could not see him any more
because her mother forbade it. Even so, she
wrote that she would always love him.
It was signed, Hannah.

It was a beautiful letter, but there was
no way except for the name Michael, that
the owner could be identified. Maybe if
I called information, the operator could find
a phone listing for the address on
the envelope.

"Operator," I began,
"this is an unusual request. I'm trying
to find the owner of a wallet that I found.
Is there anyway you can tell me if there is
a phone number for an address that was on
an envelope in the wallet?"

She suggested I speak with her supervisor,
who hesitated for a moment then said,
"Well, there is a phone listing at that
address, but I can't give you the number."
She said, as a courtesy, she would call
that number, explain my story and would
ask them if they wanted her to connect me.
I waited a few minutes and then she
was back on the line.

"I have a party who will speak with you."
I asked the woman on the other end of
the line if she knew anyone by the
name of Hannah. She gasped,
"Oh! We bought this house from a family
who had a daughter named Hannah.
But that was 30 years ago!"

"Would you know where that family could
be located now?" I asked.
"I remember that Hannah had to place
her mother in a nursing home some years
ago," the woman said.
"Maybe if you got in touch with them they
might be able to track down the daughter."

She gave me the name of the nursing home
and I called the number. They told me the
old lady had passed away some years ago
but they did have a phone number for
where they thought the daughter might be
living.

I thanked them and phoned. The woman who
answered explained that Hannah herself
was now living in a nursing home.

This whole thing was stupid, I thought to
myself. Why was I making such a big deal
over finding the owner of a wallet that
had only three dollars and a letter that
was almost 60 years old?

Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in
which Hannah was supposed to be living and
the man who answered the phone told me,
"Yes, Hannah is staying with us."

Eventhough it was already 10 p.m., I asked
if I could come by to see her.
"Well," he said hesitatingly,
"if you want to take a chance, she might be
in the day room watching television."

I thanked him and drove over to the nursing
home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me
at the door. We went up to the third floor
of the large building. In the day room,
the nurse introduced me to Hannah.
She was a sweet, silver-haired old timer
with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye.

I told her about finding the wallet and showed
her the letter. The second she saw the powder
blue envelope with that little flower on the left,
she took a deep breath and said,
"Young man, this letter was the last contact
I ever had with Michael."

She looked away for a moment deep in thought
and then said softly, "I loved him very much.
But I was only 16 at the time and my mother
felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome.
He looked like Sean Connery, the actor."

"Yes," she continued. "Michael Goldstein was
a wonderful person. If you should find him,
tell him I think of him often. And, she
hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip,
"Tell him I still love him, you know,"
she said smiling as tears began to well up
in her eyes, "I never did marry. I guess no
one ever matched up to Michael..."

I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the
elevator to the first floor and as I stood
by the door, the guard there asked,
"Was the old lady able to help you?"

I told him she had given me a lead.
"At least I have a last name. But I think
I'll let it go for a while. I spent almost
the whole day trying to find the owner
of this wallet."

I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple
brown leather case with red lacing on the side.
When the guard saw it, he said, "Hey, wait a
minute! That's Mr. Goldstein's wallet. I'd know
it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He's
always losing that wallet. I must have found
it in the halls at least three times."

"Who's Mr. Goldstein?"
I asked as my hand began to shake.

"He's one of the old timers on the 8th floor.
That's Mike Goldstein's wallet for sure.
He must have lost it on one of his walks."

I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to
the nurse's office. I told her what the guard
had said. We went back to the elevator and
got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.

On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said,
"I think he's still in the day room. He likes
to read at night. He's a darling old man."

We went to the only room that had any lights
on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse
went over to him and asked if he had lost
his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise,
put his hand in his back pocket and said,
"Oh, it is missing!"

"This kind gentleman found a wallet and we
wondered if it could be yours?"

I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the
second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said,
"Yes, that's it! It must have dropped out of my
pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward."

"No, thank you," I said.
"But I have to tell you something. I read the letter
in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet."

The smile on his face suddenly disappeared.
"You read that letter?"

"Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is."

He suddenly grew pale. "Hannah? You know where she is?
How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was?
Please, please tell me," he begged.

"She's fine...just as pretty as when you knew her."
I said softly. The old man smiled with anticipation
and asked, "Could you tell me where she is?
I want to call her tomorrow." He grabbed my hand and
said, "You know something, mister, I was so in love
with that girl and that when that letter came,
my life literally ended. I never married.
I guess I've always loved her. "

"Michael," I said, "Come with me."
We took the elevator down to the third floor.
The hallways were darkened and only one or two
little night-lights lit our way to the day room
where Hannah was sitting alone watching the
television. The nurse walked over to her.

"Hannah," she said softly, pointing to Michael,
who was waiting with me in the doorway.
"Do you know this man?"

She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment,
but didn't say a word. Michael said softly,
almost in a whisper, "Hannah, it's Michael. Do
you remember me?"

She gasped, "Michael! I don't believe it!
Michael! It's you! My Michael!" He walked slowly
towards her and they embraced. The nurse
and I left with tears streaming down our faces.

"See," I said. "See how the Good Lord works!
If it's meant to be, it will be."

About three weeks later I got a call at my office
from the nursing home. "Can you break away on
Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael
and Hannah are going to tie the knot!"

It was a beautiful wedding with all the people
at the nursing home dressed up to join in the
celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and
looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit
and stood tall. They made me their best man.

The hospital gave them their own room and if you
ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a
79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers,
you had to see this couple.

A perfect ending for a love affair
that had lasted nearly 60 years.

(Arnold Fine)

RIP - Steve Jobs: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish!

2011-10-06T08:20:00.001+07:00

Here is the complete transcript of the speech from this video. It's an amazing speech from a remarkable visionary man behind all those stuff we are using every day!

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

why do we SHOUT?

2010-10-29T08:19:00.004+07:00

One day, a professor asked his students,
'why do we SHOUT instead of speak when we are ANGRY?'

All the students thought for a while. One answered,
'Because we lost our cool. That's why we SHOUT.'

The professor asked again,
'But the person is just right next to you, why
can't we just talk softly but have to SHOUT?'

This time everyone gave their opinions but none
was accepted by the professor.

At last the professor explained,
'When we get ANGRY, our hearts drift apart.
To mask the DISTANCE we felt, we instinctively SHOUT
instead of speak so the other party can hear us.'

But as we SHOUT, we get ANGRIER. And we drift apart
further. So we SHOUT even louder.'

'It is the opposite when we are in love. Not only we
do not shout, we whisper into each other ears. Why?'

'This is because our hearts are very close, almost
never apart. As our love deepen, we reach a state of
communication where there is no need for words.'

'We understand each other well enough just by
exchanging look,' concluded the professor.

'Therefore, when we are arguing, DO NOT speak words
that will make our hearts drift apart.
WAIT a few days. When you feel your hearts are no
longer far apart, pick up the conversation and
continue from there.'

[author unknown]
~ thanks Myra, for the thoughts.

a distinguished-honourable man

2010-10-25T12:25:00.003+07:00

I like to see a man proud of the place in which
he lives. I like to see a man live so that his
place will be proud of him. ~ Abraham Lincoln

I've learnt should one says he is a distinguished
honourable man, then he should at least, qualify
the following:

* ought to be able to portray himself having a
honoured-good manners.
* ought to be able to choose preferable honoured
speech, be well spoken.
* ought to be able of well-behaved, self awareness
of being mischievous and lure-tempting to the
opposites.
* ought to stand still against temptations which
distracts him out of the way.
* ought to be able to hold himself, no assault
and abttery.
* ought to be able to care his other half.

the mentioned distinguished-honourable man should
be able to persistently show he deserves that.
else, it's worthless. the distinguished would
refer to his family rather than his own. any
breach will fail him into such honourable family.

for him requires much learning... it ain't
talking about something easy to achieve.
he has to be at that certain level, that qualify
him in many relationships he has, according to
the roles he plays, up to the values he has.

we are not simply talking to the result. people
is honoured during the way to his best. it's
the hardest part during the process, when he
stumbles and falls climbing to the top.
he can be one of the best during the time of
hardship. the quality of being honoured will
not be questioned. one day all acknowledgement
will become his victory.

25 october 2010 - 01:00am
http://life-as-a-house.blogspot.com/2010/10/yang-terhormat.html

pearls before breakfast (2007)

2010-07-22T17:34:00.055+07:00

Quote:

HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L'ENFANT PLAZA

STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE

A TRASH BASKET.

By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white

man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington

Nationals baseball cap. From a small case,

he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet,

he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change

as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic,

and began to play.

It was 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, the middle of the

morning rush hour. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist

performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by.

Almost all of them were on the way to work,

which meant, for almost all of them, a government job.

L'Enfant Plaza is at the nucleus of federal Washington,

and these were mostly mid-level bureaucrats

with those indeterminate, oddly fungible

titles: policy analyst, project manager,

budget officer, specialist, facilitator, consultant.

Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar

to commuters in any urban area where the occasional

street performer is part of the cityscape:

Do you stop and listen?

Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation,

aware of your cupidity but annoyed by

the unbidden demand on

your time and your wallet?

Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite?

Does your decision change if he's really bad?

What if he's really good?

Do you have time for beauty?

Shouldn't you?

What's the moral mathematics of the moment? ...

The piece he started with is Chaconne from

Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 2 in D Minor.

It's considered one of

the most difficult violin pieces to master.

Exhausting long, 14 minutes - and consists

entirely of a single, succinct musical progression

repeated in dozens of variations to create

a dauntingly complex architecture of sound.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed

there was musician playing. He slowed is pace and

stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up

to meet his schedule.

A half-minute later, the violinist received

his first dollar tip:

a woman threw the money in the till and

without stopping continued to walk.

It was until six minutes then,

someone leaned against the wall to listen to him,

but the man looked at his watch and

started to walk again.

Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy.

His mother tagged him along, hurried

but the child stopped to look at the violinist.

Finally the mother pushed hard and

the child continued to walk turning his head all the time.

This action was repeated by several other children.

All the parents, without exception,

forced them to move on.

43 minutes - six classical pieces,

seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around

and take in the performance, at least for a minute.

Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run,

for a total of $32 and change.

That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by,

oblivious, many only three feet away,

few even turning to look....

None noticed the violinist was Joshua Bell,

one of the best musicians in the world,

who performed the most intricate pieces ever written

with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Three days before his playing at L'Enfant Plaza Station,

Joshua Bell sold out at the theatre in Boston

and the seats average at $100.

IF A GREAT MUSICIAN PLAYS GREAT MUSIC

BUT NO ONE HEARS . . .

WAS HE REALLY ANY GOOD?

What is beauty? Is it a measurable fact ((Gottfried Leibniz),

or merely an opinion (David Hume), or is it a little of each,

colored by the immediate state of mind of

the observer (Immanuel Kant)?

Joshua Bell, sitting there in a hotel restaurant,

picking at his breakfast, wryly trying to figure out

what the hell had just happened back there,

at the Metro...

"At the beginning," Bell says,

"I was just concentrating on playing the music.

I wasn't really watching

what was happening around me . . ."

THERE ARE SIX MOMENTS IN THE VIDEO THAT

BELL FINDS PARTICULARLY PAINFUL TO RELIVE:

"The awkward times," he calls them.

It's what happens right after each piece ends: nothing.

The music stops.

The same people who hadn't noticed him playing

don't notice that he has finished.

No applause, no acknowledgment.

So Bell just saws out a small, nervous chord --

the embarrassed musician's equivalent of,

"Er, okay, moving right along . . ." --

and begins the next piece....

Watching the video weeks later,

Bell finds himself mystified by one thing only.

He understands why he's not drawing a crowd,

in the rush of a morning workday.

But: "I'm surprised at the number of people

who don't pay attention at all, as if I'm invisible.

Because, you know what? I'm makin' a lot of noise!"

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies

Let's say Kant is right. Let's accept that we can't look at

what happened on January 12 and make any judgment

whatever about people's sophistication

or their ability to appreciate beauty.

But what about their ability to appreciate life?

In nutshell, let's thank this extraordinary performance

arranged by the Washington Post and Joshua Bell.

This can be taken as a social experiment

about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines go like this:

In a commonplace environment

at an inappropriate hour;

Do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop appreciating it?

Do we recognise the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible summary from

this uncommon experience would be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and

listen to one of the greatest musicians in the world

playing the best music ever written,

how many other things are we missing then?

Watch the video here

adios amigo

2010-07-22T09:24:00.002+07:00

effective communication - face the future

2010-05-25T10:57:00.044+07:00

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a

hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said:

'I am blind, please help.'

There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from

his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He

then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote

some words. He put the sign back so that

everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people

were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon

the man who had changed the sign came to see

how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps

and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my

sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what

you said but in a different way.'
What he had written was:

'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

Do you think the first sign and the second sign

were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind.

But the first sign simply said the boy was blind.

The second sign told people they were so lucky

that they were not blind. Should we be surprised

that the second sign was more effective?

be thankful for what you have,

be creative, be innovative.

think differently and positively.

invite others towards good with wisdom,

live life with no excuse and

love with no regrets.

when life gives you a 100 reasons to cry,

show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

face your past without regret.
handle your present with confidence.
prepare the future without fear.
keep the faith and drop the fear.

how egg relates to performance?

2010-05-25T09:42:00.016+07:00

What happens when you are just a cock?

and you fail to perform as aspired ... then?

jokes - recruit right man on the right job

2010-05-04T08:47:00.017+07:00

Put about 100 bricks in some particular
order in a closed room with an open
window. Then send 2 or 3 candidates

in the room and close the door.
Leave them alone and come back after
6 hours and then analyze the situation.

If they are counting the bricks.
Put them in the Accounts Department.
If they are recounting them. Put them in auditing.
If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks.
Put them in engineering.
If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order.
Put them in planning.
If they are throwing the bricks at each other.
Put them in operations.
If they are sleeping. Put them in security.
If they have broken the bricks into pieces.
Put them in Information Technology.
If they are sitting idle. Put them in human resources.
If they say they have tried different combinations, yet
not a brick has been moved. Put them in sales.
If they have already left for the day. Put them in marketing.
If they are staring out of the window.
Put them on strategic planning.

And then last but not least. If they are talking to each
other and not a single brick has been moved.
Congratulate them and put them In Top Management.

[no offense, guys - it's just a joke, but is it close enough somehow?]

camaraderie

2010-02-01T10:44:00.021+07:00

over these years,
i've seen it grows from modest
origins to best recognitions,
along the way,
we've continued to pusth the
bar higher, the distance further,
and the time shorter,
the journey was made more colourful.

it has been challenging, yet demanding,
and it would have been very difficult, for anyone of us,
to meet ever escalating expectations,
yet it's for us - if we come to think of it.

this should have been great as it would today,
it wouldn't come easy,
it is not because of one individual's efforts;
it's collective determination;
it's will of everyone who strives every moment;
to meet the commitments.
it's about the willingness to put aside one's ego,
to achieve the outcomes,
the perseverance to work through issues fairly,
the tight teamwork,
and the camaraderie under all circumstances
that we are - where we are today.

would it be an eventful ride, a wonderful trip?
~outcomes that matter~

[thank you, ohta-san - so long]
feb. 1, 2010 [a 37-years]

congrats to Andy and team:
Lung Capacity project has been the best project in Grade 5

for we all have flaws ...

2008-09-25T10:27:00.011+07:00

an elderly chinese woman

had two large pots,

each hung on the ends

of a pole, which she carried

across her neck. one of the

pots had a crack in it

while the other pot was

perfect and always delivered

a full of portion of water.

at the of the long walk from the stream to the house,

the cracked pot arrived only half full.

for a full two years this went on daily, with the woman

bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own

imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of

what it had been made to do.

after 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failures,

it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

"i'm ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side

causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.

"the old woman smiled, "did you notice that there are

flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other

pot's side? that because i have always known about

your flaw, so i planted flower seeds on your side of

the path, and every day while we walk back,

you water them."

"for two years i have been able to pick these

beautiful flowers to decorate the table. without you

being just the way you are, there would not be this

beauty to grace the house."

each of us has our own unique flaws ...

but it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make

our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

you've just got to take each person for what they are

and look for the good in them.

to all of my cracked-pot friends,

when today you've found your other half,

remember to take each other's flaws,

turn them into incredibly beautiful flowers

bring them back at home,

decorate your life,

embrace everyday, be thankful ...

and remember to always smell the flowers,

on your side of the path....

a woman should have ....

2008-09-25T09:55:00.014+07:00

a woman should have ...
enough money within her
control to move out and
rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants
to or needs to...

a woman should have ...
something perfect to wear
if the employer, or date of
her dreams wants to see
her in an hour...

a woman should have ...
a youth she's content to leave behind....

a woman should have ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward

to retelling it in her old age...

a woman should have ...
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill,

and a black lace bra...

a woman should have ...
one friend who always makes her laugh...

and one who lets her cry...

a woman should have ...
a good piece of furniture not previously owned

by anyone else in her family...

a woman should have ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,

and a recipe for a meal, that will make

her guests feel honored...

a woman should have ...
a feeling of control over her destiny.

and every woman should know ...
how to fall in love without losing herself.

every woman should know ...
how to quit a job, break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...

every woman should know ...
when to try harder...
and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

every woman should know ...
that she can't change the length of her calves,

the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

every woman should know ...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...

but its over...

every woman should know ...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

every woman should know ...
how to live alone....
even if she doesn't like it...

every woman should know ...
whom she can trust,
whom she can't, and
why she shouldn't take it personally...

every woman should know ...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

every woman should know ...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month... and a year...

life is too short ...
so kiss slowly ...
laugh insanely ...
love truly ... and
forgive quickly.

~ dr. maya angelou
dr. maya angelou is a remarkable renaissance
woman who is hailed as one of the great voices
of contemporary literature. as a poet, educator,
historian, best-selling author, actress,
playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and
director, she continues to travel the world,
spreading her legendary wisdom. within the rhythm
of her poetry and elegance of her prose lies
angelou's unique power to help readers of every
orientation span the lines of race and angelou
captivates audiences through the vigor and sheer
beauty of her words and lyrics.
http://www.mayaangelou.com/

long forgotten page

2008-09-24T08:44:00.002+07:00

i've been 'away' for long,
not because i don't have anything to write,
nor anything to say,
it's a stupid mistake,
i forgot my password!

good thing is,
i manage to locate it somehow.
so here i am again :D
[after a long and tiring walk]

* soften two titles of previous posts *

2008-04-18T14:20:00.004+07:00

since i posted 2 sharings here, several
comments initiate my decision to soften
the titles, i.e.

1. did i marry the right person?
2. why am i still having an affair?

comments around such as:
"why are you sharing such thing?"
"i dare not go and read, sounds so scary."
"hi.. are you having an affair? don't
fall into 8 affairs like your id..."
"why are you so passive, my friend?"

then.. i won't wait to revise the titles,
new titles will appear from now on, i.e.

1. marrying the right person
2. an affair

wish i have revised them better :)
thank you for all feedbacks...

an affair

2008-04-16T15:36:00.046+07:00

someone told me,
"the most wonderful feeling
is being in love, falling into
the love itself."

married couple would agree with me that, all spikes we have
at first will fade away eventually after we are in the marriage,
says more than 3 years (those years spent on steady are not
counted though). just like this saying from my best friend,
"you know me, i know you.. cannot pretend anymore.. so,
no more sweet and sticky times like we first met." --

The fun of extra marital affairs is the burden of homes...
sometimes.

These points are so true:

1. Contrary to what we believe that if your partner is having an affair,
it’s better not to know. When it comes to infidelity, ignorance is
neverbliss. Things that we have no idea of is hurting us more than
we ever know.

2. Marriage is not a guarantee of happiness and content. Even happily
married people who has no intention to fool around happen to bump
into someone.

3. When we are unhappy with the marriage, we blame our husbands or
wives. We seek comfort from our lover instead of confiding our problems
to the spouse. But then time and again married people have to remind
themselves that attraction is inevitable, infidelity can.

4. AFFAIR is fun because it is something new. It reminds us of the fun
of being young and carefree.

5. Eventually for lovers when the other starts to make demands the
glow wears off. Once they set rules, the relationship loses the charm.

6. There is no such thing as bad relationships, only bad situations and
circumstances.

7. The burden of wanting to spend more time with a lover can be
equally hurting.

8. Sometimes you pour all your thoughts and affection to your lover and
when you are with the wife you have no more emotions left to share.
Can you now justify your infidelity by saying you are bored and unhappy
with your marriage?

9. You think that your affair is your ultimate sanctuary from all the
trouble you have in your home.

* The trouble never ends until the affair or worst the marriage ends.
THEN ANOTHER TROUBLE WILL ARISES.

* The best antidote to this is making a special effort to stay close to
your spouse and treasure each moment. WHICH IS NOT WORKING AT
THE FIRST PLACE - HOW CAN IT WORK AFTER HAVING SUCH A
FASCINATING AFFAIRS?? (ref. #8 above)

* Being the lover on the other hand can be really exciting, you are
blinded by the thought that you are precious.

* Eventually you silently weep and anticipate for the moment
when the lover no longer knocks on your door because he finally
realizes from now on he is to open only the door of his home where
his wife awaits him. WHEN THE HIPE IS OFF, THEN A
WAKE UP CALL RINGS. COULD BE A FALSE ALARM THOUGH.....

At the end of the day the wife will always be his most precious gem.
VERY TRUE. CAN HE SAY THAT WITH HIS EYES OPEN WIDE?

That’s when you finally choose to be the spouse, tough but fulfilling.
When the fooling is over we will be the best partner, wife, husband or
the best friend we could ever be to someone we care about.
IF THIS IS SO TRUE, ALL AFFAIRS ENDED AFTER THEIR FIRST.
BUT USUALY - AFTER ENDING THE AFFAIR WE JUST BEING A PERFECT
SPOUSE FOR THE SAKE OF "SOMETHING" CAN BE FAMILY, CAN BE
CONVENIENCY, CAN ANYTHING,
THE QUESTION IS .... CAN YOU STILL BE YOURSELF?

THE BAD THING AFTER EXPERIENCING AFFAIR IS THE EMPTINESS
IN YOU WITHOUT IT. CAN YOU LIVE WITH IT?

(author: unknown)

All the answer reverts back to you, please read
"marrying the right person"

http://woman-and-life.blogspot.com/2008/04/did-i-marry-right-person.html

tiada yang lebih indah
daripada perasaan jatuh
cinta....

pasangan yang telah menikah mungkin akan
setuju jika saya katakan bahwa *hmm.. kata
indonesia untuk spikes tidak ada yang tepat*
"segala perasaan indah mo ketemu doi,
perasaan heboh pengen cepet ketemu lagi"
akan perlahan dan pasti menghilang ketika
kita masuk dalam pernikahan. seperti
ungkapan temen baikku, "kamu tau saya,
saya tau kamu.. ngga bisa pura-pura lagi,
gak ada hal-hal greget yang bikin kita lengket
kayak dulu." -- ketika kelakuan pasangan
menikah itu lebih menyerupai kakak-adik
daripada pasangan yang sedang 'gila'
jatuh cinta seperti waktu pacaran...

Indahnya perselingkuhan merupakan pelampiasan
ke-tidakberdayaan dari dalam rumah ...
kadang-kadang.

Hal-hal di bawah ini adalah sesuatu yang benar
adanya:

1. Berlainan dengan apa yang selama ini kita
percaya bahwa jika partner kita sedang berselingkuh,
sebaiknya kita tidak perlu tahu. Ketika yang kita
bicarakan sekarang adalah pelanggaran komitmen
pernikahan (baca: selingkuh), cuek bukan lagi
sumber kebahagiaan. Ternyata kondisi ketidaktahuan
kita itu lebih menyakitkan tanpa kita sadari.

2. Pernikahan bukan garansi menuju kebahagiaan dan
kepuasan. Pasangan berbahagia yang bahkan tidak
pernah berkeinginan untuk ngelabapun bisa terjebak
dengan seseorang tanpa disadari.

3. Saat kita sedih dengan pernikahan, kebiasaan yang
paling mudah adalah menyalahkan pihak lain, suami
ataupun istri. Kita lebih suka mencari kesenangan
sendiri dari perselingkuhan daripada mendekatkan
diri dan mencari solusi bersama dengan pasangan
pernikahan kita. Yang penting, dari waktu ke waktu,
pasangan yang telah menikah hendaknya selalu
menyadari dan mengingatkan diri sendiri bahwa kita
tidak dapat menghindari ketertarikan sesaat pada
orang lain. Namun, kita dapat dan kita punya
pilihan apakah kita akan menyeleweng ataukah
kita harus setia.

4. Perselingkuhan akan selalu terasa indah karena
nuansa yang diciptakan terasa baru. Perasaan
tersebut mengikat emosional kita untuk mengenang,
betapa indahnya menjelma muda kembali dan
hidup tanpa beban, ikatan dan tanggungjawab.

5. Kemudian setelah sekian waktu, ketika salah satu
pihak penyelingkuh itu mulai banyak tuntutan,
letupan indah perselingkuhan mulai memudar.
Ketika mereka mulai membuat aturan, pesona
perselingkuhanpun mulai suram.

6. Sebenarnya tidak ada yang bisa disebut hubungan
yang tidak harmonis. Yang ada hanyalah situasi
dan keadaan yang memperburuk hubungan yang
seharusnya indah.

7. Keinginan untuk punya waktu lebih banyak
bersama selingkuhan memberikan perasaan sakit
yang sama besarnya dengan keinginan itu sendiri.

8. Kadang kita memberikan pikiran dan cinta
habis-habisan kepada selingkuhan sehingga ketika
kita sedang bersama pasangan pernikahan,
semua keterikatan emosi dan letupan cinta sudah
tidak tersisa lagi. Jika memang demikian keadaan
yang kita ciptakan, dapatkah kita kini dengan
sadar memberikan alasan yang logis dan benar,
kemudian menyatakan bahwa selingkuhnya kita
berasal dari kebosanan dan ketidakbahagiaan
kita atas pernikahan yang kita miliki?

9. Kita kerap berpendapat bahwa perselingkuhan
kita adalah media aman yang menyelamatkan
kita dari persoalan kita di rumah.

* Permasalahan tidak akan pernah selesai hingga
perselingkuhan. Atau bahwa yang terburuk adalah,
pernikahan itu juga ikut berakhir. UNTUK KEMUDIAN,
PERMASALAHAN LAIN JUGA IKUT BERMUNCULAN.

* Solusi terbaik dari semua permasalahan adalah
mengupayakan usaha yang terbaik untuk tetap dekat
dengan pasangan pernikahan, serta membahagiakan
dan menghargai setiap saat bersamanya.
Pertanyaan yang umum adalah, jika upaya terbaikpun
telah dilakukan dari awal dan tetap pernikahan itu
tidak membaik - bagaimana kita bisa berharap
pernikahan itu akan dapat menjadi lebih baik
dengan mengalami letupan-letupan indah menjadi
muda lagi dalam perselingkuhan? (baca #8 di atas)

* Walau bagaimanapun, menjadi selingkuhan memang
bisa benar-benar menggembirakan, mata hati kita
tertutup bahwa kitalah segalanya bagi dia. Perasaan
yang melanda orang jatuh cinta seperti ini memang
benar adanya, walaupun dalam media yang tidak
seharusnya. Seharusnya fakta ini kita sadari dan
diproses menjadi energi yang lebih baik bagi
pasangan pernikahan kita.

* Akhirnya kita hanya bisa menangis dalam hati serta
mulai mengantisipasi kenyataan bahwa masa
perselingkuhan telah berlalu ketika selingkuhannya
menyadari bahwa rumahnya adalah tempat di
mana pasangan pernikahannya menunggu setiap
waktu. Ketika semua gelora itu telah berlalu,
saatnya untuk sadar kembali. Walaupun tetap
dapat merupakan pilihan yang keliru...

Akhirnya, pasangan pernikahannyalah yang akan
selalu merupakan permata yang paling berharga.
Buat selingkuhan yang punya naluri untuk terus
selingkuh, coba amini dan nyatakan itu dengan
mata terbuka, bisakah Anda?

Dan ini akan terjadi ketika akhirnya kita
memilih untuk menjadi seorang 'pasangan pernikahan',
memang banyak tantangan namun mengandung
harapan dan ada kepuasan tersendiri. Saat masa
perselingkuhan telah berlalu, kita bisa menjadi
pasangan yang terbaik, istri, suami atau teman
terbaik bagi seseorang yang pernah kita sayangi.

APAKAH PERNYATAAN INI BENAR ADANYA?
JIKA BENAR, KEINGINAN UNTUK TERUS BERSELINGKUH
SEHARUSNYA LENYAP SEIRING DENGAN BERAKHIRNYA
SELINGKUH YANG PERTAMA.
KENYATAAN YANG BIASA TERJADI ADALAH, SETELAH
PERSELINGKUHAN ITU BERAKHIR, KITA HANYA
MELAKUKAN FORMALITAS SEBAGAI PASANGAN
PERNIKAHAN DALAM WADAH YANG DISEBUT KELUARGA -
MUNGKIN BISA MENYENANGKAN, BISA APA SAJA -

PERTANYAANNYA ADALAH ...
APAKAH KAMU MASIH MENJADI DIRIMU SENDIRI?

Hal terburuk setelah melakukan perselingkuhan adalah
kehampaan yang melanda jiwa dan pikiran kita setelah
perselingkuhan itu berlalu. Kehampaan yang muncul
karena letupan-letupan perselingkuhan dan takut-takut
ketahuan itu telah lenyap. Bisakah Anda bertahan
melalui periode kehampaan itu?

(author: unknown)

Jawabannya kembali kepada Anda sendiri, silahkan
baca posting sebelumnya, "marrying the right person"

http://woman-and-life.blogspot.com/2008/04/did-i-marry-right-person.html

what's in a name?

2008-04-16T11:53:00.002+07:00

Do you know why New Changi Hospital

(NCH) changed its name to Changi
General Hospital (CGH)?

Because NCH stands for

"Never Come Home".

That's why business was very bad before

it changed its name. Now CGH stands for "Can Go Home".

So business is picking up.

Business in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is still going

strong because SGH stands for "Sure Go Home"!

Now National University Hospital (NUH) is also considering

a name change. It stands for "No Use Hospital"!

What about Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

Not too good a name, no wonder so much problem.
It stands for " Tiam Tiam Si Hospital " and now

' Tan Teo SARs Hospital ".

So, be careful of choosing hospital to go if anyone is unwell.

confusing english

2008-04-16T11:33:00.009+07:00

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge,

would they call it Fed UP?

Do Lipton Tea employees take

coffee breaks?

If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?

If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from

Holland called Holes?

Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

Why the man who invests all your money called a broker?

If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to

Make terrible?

Why is it called building when it is already built?

If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?

If you're not supposed to drink and drive, then why do

Bars have parking lots?

If you take an Oriental person and spin him around

several times, does he become disoriented?

If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

Humans!?

If working hours are meant for working, then why are

you reading this? Get back to WORK!

marrying the right person

2008-04-15T13:16:00.061+07:00

During one of our seminars,
a woman asked a common question.

She said,
'How do I know if I married the right person?'

I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said,
'It depends. Is that your husband?'
In all seriousness, she answered, 'How do you know?'

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that
it's weighing on your mind.

Here's the answer.

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love
with your spouse/partner. You anticipated their call, wanted their
touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies (unconventional behavior/habit).

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a
completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to
DO anything. That's why it's called 'falling' in love...
Because it's happening TO YOU.

People in love sometimes say, 'I was swept off my feet.'
Think about the imagery of that expression.
It implies that you were just standing there;
doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience.
But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria (excitement) of love fades.
It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls
become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome
(when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute,
drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think
about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the
initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry
subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking,
'Did I marry the right person?'

And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had,
you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when
marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and
look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most
obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive
TV, or abusive substances.

But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage.
It lies within it.
I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could.
And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a
few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT
PERSON; IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience.
It'll NEVER just happen to you.
You can't 'find' LASTING love.
You have to 'make' it day in and day out.
That's why we have the __expression 'the labor of love.'

Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes
WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it.
Love is NOT a mystery.
There are specific things you can do
(with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are
also laws for relationships.

Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger,
certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger.
It's a direct cause and effect.
If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable...
You can 'make' love.

Love in marriage is indeed a 'decision'... Not just a feeling.

REMEMBER THIS ALWAYS:
God determines who walks into your life.
It is up to you to decide who you let walk away,
who you let stay,
and who you refuse to let go.

(thanks Felicia, for the story)

two-side of stories

2008-04-12T22:45:00.010+07:00

similar to a coin,
there are always
two sides in every story,
we definitely
cannot attend both.
we can only attend ours.

lately i've been doing a lot of thinking.
unlike those have lots of thought will get slimmer,
it doesn't apply to me.
the more i think, the higher complexity behind it,
the wider i am :)

i was getting into a life supposed to be great,
unexpectedly it turned out somewhat frustrating.

yet things are going to be great all times, aren't they?
should i be grumbling because of it?
should i look into the other side of coin,
to see barely if the other life is as great as mine?

life...
is it as easy as what i've taught all participants today?
well, i don't have the answer with me now.
probably i'd like to sleep with it.
and see if things are going to get better
by the time i wake up again next morning.

thank you, Lord...
for such a blessed day, amen.
[He deserved all these grateful words after all.]

on the sand

2008-04-11T21:43:00.007+07:00

today is our second
trip to balikpapan
we take ourselves
to the beach in front
of the hotel
though it's not much
as expected
yet it brings joy
to our hearts
we walk here and there like kids
observing norms look forgotten
see, we have smiley on the sand made up by 2 crab-holes
and small stone

now behind my laptop, lonely table just for one and solitaire tunes
keep playing on my head

it's kind of weird and i just can't scream this out!

nothing is impossible

2008-04-10T08:46:00.009+07:00

Nothing is impossible.
The only challenge is
if we are still keeping the pace
and persistence towards
what we really want,
even if the work is so tedious ....

do you solve the problems or the problems solve you?

2008-03-11T10:36:00.006+07:00

It's been months over now. I remember
one fine day, my loved-one urged me
to write and explore this topic. I was
arguing yet I agreed, this might
beneficial to others who encounter such
situation. I'm not saying then I would
lead up a group discussion on such matter.
However, writing this mass topic around us, might
contribute various thoughts. Whether it leads better
or worse, it really depends on your good hands, my friends.

If your choice is not living alone, then it needs strong
commitment to hold hands no matter how bad the paths you
may walk. It's unlike we are having double lives that
we can easily switch and pack back to the other place
when we hit unexpected life issues on the other side.
If we keep holding on such life alternative, believe
me, substitute is poisonous. Substitute only lures one
better when one has problems, one'll never learn from
mistakes, and will never grow-up. We'll keep running
away from the life we should live and we live only in our
ideal fantasy of how life can be without holding back to
the commitment we have had.

The clue is like the little boy saying to his mom:
"If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances
are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand,
I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never
let my hand go."
[http://woman-and-life.blogspot.com/2008/02/shall-i-hold-yours.html]

Then, how are you going to hold hands? Tends to let go
or give even firmer grasp when you hit the problem? How
if it's not only a problem? How if it becomes problems
as you are just not willing to see the bright side and
resolve them?

Problems, everyone has, who can bravely say one doesn't?
Hence, how are we going to look on it?
How to work towards it?
Are you taking the lead to solve the problems?
Or you prefer to let the problems solve you one day?

Problems, it doesn't come alone.
There're situations, multiple interventions among men
and women. It doesn't come as standalone-package.

So, how to rate problems? Do you have one or many?
Let me quote this interesting: Work Life Coach quote.
It's plugged on our wall, I don't even realize when it
was plugged there.

It's OK to have personal problems. WE ALL DO.
What's NOT OK is to do NOTHING about them.

Basically it's about how we communicate towards it.
How positive we are to admit there're problems and
willing to find ways to resolve it together. Without it,
yes.. I would agree, it will never been resolved. You'll
keep hitting same issues every now and then. Until
one day, you'll declare you're both are not soulmates.
[Anyone can give perfect answer on what soulmate is?]

All improvement will require change BUT NOT ALL change
will result in an improvement.

Raising your hand and few slaps on your loved one's face
is a change, but it's not an improvement for any
circumstances. It's a communication in a hand but it
communicates nothing rather than hurts at all means.
People rising hands on his loved one may fulfill
the ego, achieving every emotional requirements to win the
game. However, being the loved one who gets slaps is not
going to be healed in no time.

Have you ever been slaps just because you want to express
your affection and kisses? There're people who can show
her deep love and care eventhough in a fight. Sometimes,
there're strong needs come from within as if to hold and
express the situation -- as understandable, simply saying
"i understand and still love you" is not appropriate at
all.

However, when the other just cannot understand the feeling,
is it wise to raise a hand?

Problems, we all have, who doesn't? Those don't
have problems are those love ignoring them and hold
a wishful thought of how wonderful world in their own
scene. Does it solve anything lies in between?

The answer is in your wise hand....
[10 March 2008]

a wishful thanks for you,
for the intentional visits,
for the brave spendings on those nites,
for those affection nites,
and most of all,
for the recent birthday gift.
yes.. it was the best of all year,
indeed...
[http://han88fia.multiply.com/reviews/item/2]

swan song

2008-02-27T23:34:00.003+07:00

this is my swan song,
whatever i do now, i do it well.

this is my swan song,
i fell in love with you, i love you well.

and if the Lord provides the music
for the world around to sing,
my love will build a castle in the air.

this is my last chance,
a chance to show the world that i am strong.

this is my last dance,
i'm walking off the floor where i belong.
....
~ swan song ... bee gees

canon of st. paul's cathedral

2008-02-27T23:25:00.002+07:00

:death is nothing at all
:i have only slipped away into the next room

aku adalah aku dan kau adalah kau,
apapun hubungan kita di waktu yang silam,
demikianlah pula hubungan kita sekarang.
panggillah aku dengan nama panggilanku yang biasa,
bicaralah kepadaku dengan cara yang santai selama ini,

:i am i and you are you
:whatever we were to each other
:that we still are
:call me by my old familiar name
:speak to me in the easy way
:which you always used

janganlah menggunakan kata-kata khusus,
khidmat, serius atau sedih,
tertawalah seperti biasa kita tertawa bersama,
untuk lelucon-lelucon kecil yang kita nikmati bersama,

:put no difference in your tone
:wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
:laugh as we always laughed
:at the little jokes we enjoyed together

berdoalah, senyumlah, kenangkanlah aku,
berdoalah untukku!
biarkanlah namaku tetap merupakan nama dalam rumah tangga,
seperti pada waktu-waktu yang lampau,
sebutlah namaku biasa-biasa saja,
tanpa emosi sedikitpun,

:pray smile, think of me, pray for me
:let my name be ever the household word
:that it always was
:let it be spoken without effort
:without the trace of a shadow in it

hidup tetap mempunyai arti
seperti apa yang telah kita alami selama ini,
ini tetap sama,
tidak berubah sedikitpun juga,
ini adalah suatu kesinambungan yang tak kunjung putus,

:life means all that it ever meant
:it is the same as it ever was
:there is unbroken continuity

mengapa aku harus dilupakan,
sekedar karena aku tidak terlihat lagi?

:why should i be out of mind
:because i am out of sight?

aku menunggu engkau,
untuk waktu yang sangat singkat,
di sini,
di suatu tempat yang sangat dekat,
hanya di belokan..
semuanya baik..

:i am waiting for you
:somewhere very near
:just around the corner
:all is well

~ menjadikan hidup penuh makna, hal 147, darmo rahardjo
henry scott holland
(1847-1918) canon of st paul's cathedral