Recommended to watch (for Business & Politics students)

Karei Naru Ichizoku (the story of splendid family)

End (time to sleep)

zzz.........

Definition of "healthy"

This morning I read a news that the legendary Indonesian pop singer, Chrisye, has passed away due to his lung cancer.

Suddenly while thinking about it....a question popped up in my mind. What does health or to be healthy actually mean?
I know it is somewhat irrelevant with the news but I'm still in the mood of discussing the term "healthy."
By the end of 30th March 2007, finally I came with some thoughts.

First thought
Would it be enough to be declared "you are a healthy person" when you have no desease and your body is clean from any bacteria?
How about if nothing wrong with your body but your mind is being occupied by stress and problems? would you be still called a healthy person?

If I were in that situation, I wouldn't call myself healthy...and so would people..they would rather calling me crazy, having a mind-sickness. So I think this is not the right definition of being healthy.

Second thought
Would it be enough to say "I am very healthy" with all fullness in my life like I have a lot of money, food, jewelery, or lots of friends around me..so people will call me whealthy (read: wealthy)?
If the answer of that statement is true, then people who don't have money, food, and have none want to be friend with..would they be called the unhealthy ones? Because they maybe sick with their living conditions and start thinking "mylife is suck!!"

I believe at least someday in someone's life, someone will feel lackness in their life...can be anything, lack of money, feeling hungry or starving, or even feeling lonely and left behind as things always come and go...
When I was thinking about these, I was reminded of an old sentence, "you can buy anything in this world but not your health." (I can look for money, buy food, bribe someone to be my friend, but I cannot persuade my sickness to go away from me) So basically this thought of mine is also not right.

Then here is my third thought coming...
I cannot say everyone but most of people wish to be always healthy and lead a good life. Nevertheless I know there are not few people were born with handicaps or they were born with a certain lethal desease(s), which the cures were nowhere to be found and most of them have to life with it for the rest of their life.
Would there be a time or some times in their life, they will be called "a healthy person"?

I was thinking hard to find an answer or anything arguing the question when suddenly a song was being played in my mind...and it goes like this:

Hati yang gembira adalah obat (A joyful heart is good medicine)
sperti obat hati yang senang (it is like happiness medicine)
tapi semangat yang patah keringkan tulang (but a crushed spirit dries up the bones)
hati yang gembira adalah obat ((after all) a joyful heart is good medicine)

Not long after that, something popped up in my mind and said to me, "to be healthy you need yourself in the first place to declare it before anyone does." If it is possible I would say the word "healthy" means "(to) heal-thy(self)" and "thy are healed."

After all "being healthy" is not about your body or your life situation only..........it needs a body, a positive mind, and the most important thing...a joyful heart, a heart that heal thy (read:you).

(proverbs 17:22)

The reason to live

Recommended to be watch before reading this post: Harry Potter; NHK ni Youkoso!; The Pursuit of the Happiness

Hope is the reason to live and so is dream
People struggle to survive and live up their live for
there is something they wish to achieve
there are some things to run after
When finally the dreams come true, we are glad for it and continue hoping, dreaming for a better future...

However,

When the dreams are broken, what would you do?
We know that the right action to take is "don't give up," get yourself back on the track and make plan B...think positively "it's not over..just not the right time yet"



If...
all peoples chose to give up easily, there wouldn't be a lot of successful persons (I think it's good to watch the pursuit of happiness, not only because my fav actor, Will Smith was there...there was a lesson taught).

The thing is that it is not easy to be optimist person. Not few people, when their dreams and hopes are torn apart, they choose to take a shortcut.....



Running-away from the reality (a coward..maybe)
Becoming a "hikkikomori" (a Japanese term for someone who failed in many things then issolated himself from outside world..and finally let himself live in world of conspiracies--pls watch NHK ni Youkoso!).
or
Giving up the life...by taking own life
(I know it is not always because someone has no hope anymore..in some countries people still do it as ritual or trends (recently like what happened in Korea when two beautiful Korean actresses committed suicide and their fatal actions were followed by their fans)).



What's the reason I'm still living until today if bad things happen...if I fail in many things? Has God abandoned me?

Like it or not.........Unfortunately, there are not always answers behind all things and it seems God remains silent.

I often got so depressed easily too when everything is going wrong.
Have I ever tried to runaway? I would say many times (wished to have ctrl+alt+del installed and then to restart everything before the bad thing taken place)
Have I ever felt to dissapear, away from people? can't count anymore (was hoping to own Harry Potter's invisible cloak)
Have I ever thought of killing myself? once or twice when I was a kid

But one thing I've learnt about the reason why I still live until today
Just because of the promises, whic one of those God has promised nothing of His plans is meant to harm me in the end...if I am obidient...if I put Him as the center of my life.
I think...that's how my faith grow, to keep me hoping for a better tomorrow, and to encourage me facing my problematic life until the end. When finally the problems solved I feel like I have won a competition,
and it is giving me strengths to move on and to face the harder ones.

Through HIM we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing God's glory. Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (Rome 5:2-4)

An amateur story teller (AAST)

I actually have posted some short-stories aka "cerpen" in this blog. Since it is quite hard to find them directly, I intentionally make this post to outline some of those stories...you may say these are my very own quick-private-links ^^

a serie of my first experiences in Holland
Story 1:The departure (in Indonesian)

Story 2: The Morning Accident on Sinterklas day (in Indonesian)

Story 3: The Boy's clothes (in Indonesian)

Story 4: In Amstedam (in (broken)English):p

A story of being one day lonely in Sweden (based on true story---ups)
Show me the meaning of being lonely norak rek!! (in English)

A (not-really) love story (while advising a friend of mine)
Can you say the magic words? (in English)--better English?? dunno though


A (self) memory of the bomb accident at London's underground Metro
Metro (in Indonesian)--one of my favorites

A fiction of my relationship---*blushing*
Between ant and flea (in Indonesian)

What did He say to you?

HE said to me to slow down (don't be too rush, even God rested after creating the world in six days)
HE said,"learn when to hold on and when to let go"
It is to learn when you shouldn't give up early and keep trying your best.... Maybe you should consider, when people say to you "You will never know at least you try"
However, it is also to realize that every human has a limit and not every efforts results in sucess. When you have reached that point, the point where you must stop...give it back to Me....and I will take care from that moment onwards.
I asked HIM, "when? how do I know that I must stop trying?"
HE answered,"stay close to ME, ask ME, you can ask for a sign...and I will answer"

HE continued, "when you finally have to stop and let go, it doesn't mean you are a failure, a loser..."
A loser is the one who gives up without even trying.
It means, "that thing" (you wish to achieve or to own) is just not for you..just not your part.
HE said, "I know you inside out, not only your limitation in doing things but also what suit you the best to live up your life for Me."
For everything has been planned and certainly I have a plan for you too...yet it is not always the one that you want. But I guarantee someday you may see that none of My plans is meant to bring you a disastrous end.

HE said again, "I know you have been frequently asking me why I do this to you...I know that you are upset to me since the things do not go as you wish or as what you have asked for
...but if you follow My commands and keep trusting me, I'll tell you the secrets and show you what I have prepared for you in the future."

Finally HE reminded me once more,"While trying your best, please keep staying close with ME...for I will always guide you, be with you forever and I will never leave you nor forsake you." Therefore, hold on these words...I promise you.

Love,

Father

Wawancara pertama

Pembaca...sebenarnya saya hampir melupakan bahwa kata "interview" masih memiliki terjemahan bahasa Indonesia yang tidak lain adalah "wawancara." Nah pembicaraan EYD berhenti di sini dulu.

Saya cuma mau bagi-bagi cerita tentang pengalaman saya berwawancara dengan orang. Maksudnya wawancara buat magang ma cari kerja gitu lohh (bukan saya yang mewawancarai orang). Wawancara pertama dan terakhir saya adalah waktu magang di Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Bisa dikatakan pada saat itu, saya merasa sangat bahagia dan bersyukur kepada Tuhan karena sekali wawancara langsung diterima, di tempat kerja impian lagi...(apa coba kalau bukan perusahaan yang berhubungan negeri anime dan negeri asal doraemon dan Takuya Kimura itu). Namun di samping hal itu saya juga sekali-kali jadi kepikiran karena tidak memiliki kesempatan memilih perusahaan seperti yang dialami beberapa rekan saya; yaitu mendapatkan pengalaman wawancara beberapa kali, ditolak beberapa kali, dan diterima beberapa kali juga sampai pada saatnya mereka harus memilah-milah di perusahaan mana mereka akan membubuhkan tanda tangan hitam di atas putih.

Sayaaaa...dengan kata lain tidak hanya cari pengalaman kerja namun juga mencari pengalaman interview..eh wawancara maksudnya. Tahu ga waktu pas wawancara di JCC satu-setengah taon yang lalu...sempat mempermalukan diri sendiri dan bikin bingung yang wawancara karena saya melafalkan "paper" sebagai "pepper"

I told my ex-boss that my father worked in a paper company dan beliau mengira bahwa papah saya bekerja di pabrik merica (hooooooooooooooo..................). Sejak saat itu saya selalu mengingat bahwa kertas dalam bahasa Inggris dibunyikan antara bunyi "paiper dan peiper" dan merica itu dibaca "pep-perrrrr......"

Bagaimana mungkin seorang exchange-student yang nekat terbang dari Sweden ke Belanda cuma buat ikut interv eh wawancara yang belum tahu hasilnya diterima atau tidak dan seorang kandidat yang tidak bisa melafalkan bahasa Inggris dengan benar bisa diterima di JCC, organisasi Jepang yang semua pelanggan dan anggotanya cuma berbahasa Inggris dan Belanda? Pada saat itu ada tujuh kandidat lain, di mana enam di antaranya sudah diwawancara.

Saya hanya dapat berkata hari ketika saya diterima untuk menjadi trainee selama setahun di sana........dan semuanya terjadi karena kebaikan Tuhan dan anugerah-Nya.

Lord you make all things possible and it happened to me miraculously. That internship, even I cannot say the best simply because that was my very first time working with a company, it was one of the best times of my life in Holland. Thanks God!!

Bahasa Inggris saya? agak nyombong dikit ga apa-apa kan? selama setahun di sana berkembang kok...syukurlahh. Mungkin ini adalah hasil kebanyakan ngobrol ma boss di kantor, terima telpon lebih dari sepuluh kali per hari, berpuluh-puluh email sehari (meskipun banyak junknya :p), sehari 8 jam, 5 hari seminggu selama 12 bulan lamanya.

Tulisan ini cuma secuplik dari kisah hidup si mbak kutu.

Akhirnya buat yang sedang cari kerja, yang sedang menunggu balesan (bisa pekerjaan; bisa jawaban orang yang ditaksir)...jangan pernah berhenti berharap, berusaha, dan berdoa ('coz He is faithful). Masa depan itu ada dan harapanmu takkan pernah hilang amiinnn. Ganbatte kudasai ne!!

Mereka juga manusia

(Mode serius on......)

Saya tidak membenci kaum homo terlebih ketika beberapa teman kerja saya sendiri adalah penganut homosexual. Ketika mereka menceritakan kisah hidupnya, saya malah cenderung merasa simpatik dengan perjuangan hidup mereka di tengah dunia yang belum bisa menerima kehadiran golongan ini dan lebih menganggapnya sesuatu yang taboo. Di samping rasa simpatik saya, jujur saja hati kecil saya masih berteriak hal itu adalah perbuatan yang salah dan...sebuah dosa yang serius.

Apakah menjadi seorang homo itu adalah pengaruh lingkungan di masa kecil atau memang sebuah tulah karena kesalahan yang dilakukan di masa lampau, sampai sekarang saya tidak yakin akan jawabannya kecuali tetap percaya bahwa Tuhan tidak pernah menciptakan manusia dengan tujuan yang jelek. Adalah sebuah pilihan pribadi untuk memilih jalan hidup...

Kedua rekan kerja saya selalu menunjukan perasaan puas dengan kehidupan yang sekarang mereka jalani. Terlebih karena negara ini melegalkan pernikahan sesama jenis. Biarpun begitu ada saatnya ketika mereka menceritakan keluarganya di Indonesia, saya merasakan sesekali ada sebuah penyesalan dan perasaan bersalah terhadap keluarga terutama orangtua dibalik jalan hidup yang telah mereka pilih. Mereka tidak pernah mengatakannya secara tersurat namun tidak jarang mereka mengatakan hasil jerih payah di negeri Belanda ini akan dikirim untuk menyuport keluarga di Indonesia ataupun dipakai untuk mengunjungi sanak keluarga di sana. Saya masih sangat berharap biarpun secuil mereka masih memiliki keinginan utuk menjadi lelaki yang normal dalam arti berbalik dari hubungan cinta dan hubungan badan dengan sesama jenis. Meskipun bukan berarti berharap mereka dapat tertarik kepada lawan jenisnya.
Kenyataannya tidak sedikit orang-orang selama hidupnya tidak berpasangan, ada yang memilih menjalani kehidupan selibat membaktikan diri kepada agama dan orang lain, adapula yang tidak mampu karena kekurangan badani dan mental.

Satu kali teman saya yang lain melontarkan kepada salah satu teman homo saya betapa dia telah mempermalukan kaum pria dan keluarganya dengan menjalani hidup sebagai seorang banci. Tentu saja teman saya tersinggung dan berkata, "sirik banget sih lu sama gue?" namun dia tidak mengelak atau membela dirinya melakukan hal yang benar.
Saya berpikir, berapa banyak orang yang berani berkata face-to-face kepada seorang homo tentang kesalahan yang dia perbuat dibandingkan dengan orang-orang yang hanya mengatai di belakang saja namun pura-pura tidak ada apa-apa di hadapan mereka?
Kejadian ini membuat saya berpikir lagi, bahwa pada dasarnya mereka juga ingin diperlakukan seperti manusia pada umumnya, bukan hanya perasaan diterima namun juga diingatkan dan ditegur atas perbuatannya yang salah.
Ga percaya?
Coba sendiri..tapi jangan kurang ajar ngomongnya :)
Ditegur memang sakit apalagi kalau teguran itu benar adanya. Saya juga sering merasa tersinggung tetapi setelah itu tidak pernah berhenti memikirkan teguran teman saya dan menanyakan balik terhadap diri sendiri, apa benar begitu? Namun kalau sudah tahu salah tidak ada yang negur sakitnya makin menjadi-jadi karena kepala ini dipenuhin dengan berbagai konspirasi akan orang-orang yang berbicara di belakang kita.

Renungan singkat
Saya memang tidak bisa menegur secara gamblang seperti teman saya yang tadi (biasanya cuma menyindir tanpa tahu yang disindir nyadar atau tidak).
Satu hal saja yang dapat saya simpulkan dari fenomena ini, dosa manusia yang paling umum dan seringkali tidak disadari adalah "berkompromi" dengan membenarkan apa yang dilarang menjadi sesuatu yang bisa ditolerir dan tidak berakibat apa-apa karena orang lain juga melakukannya.
Namun hukum Tuhan tidak pernah berubah dan tidak pernah menganggap dosa yang satu lebih ringan atau lebih berat daripada yang lain. Saya juga merasa ngeri dengan hukumNya yang tidak bisa ditawar-tawar, Dia berkata "upah dosa ialah maut." (Roma 6:23a)

Ah masa sih?
(konteks di neraka--testimoni dari hamba-hamba Tuhan yang pernah di bawa ke sana) masa seorang pembunuh dan tukang memperkosa orang mendapat hukuman yang sama dengan orang yang melacurkan dirinya? hukumannya memang berbeda namun si pelacur tidak merasa lebih bahagia dari si pembunuh dan pemerkosa... Resources

Fushigi no yume...alias mimpi aneh nih!!!

Tahu ga saya mimpi pulang Indonesia dan ingin melamar kerja. Tetapi apa daya ternyata saya sudah tidak bisa menulis surat lamaran kerja dalam bahasa Indonesia....aiyaaaaa (*niru cukong sebelah).

Sekian

Valentine is here again

It's a world celebration of love being everywhere. Time to share, time to give and receive love that are expressed in all ways you can verbally, physically, or even silently through means of a little gift and a valentine card, and a time for gathering free chocholate... :p

In contrast, on this year's val's day I have myself study for database re-exam..(I missed it last time because I came in the wrong hour and the exam had already finished LOL). Honestly I am feeling a little bit lonely but still happy as I can feel love is in the air and everywhere today (j/k). I received some valentine sms from my friends there. From my heart thankss...*sigh I love you so much. My honey? he doesn't want to disturb my study so he stays at home :)

My wish for you all is that to keep this valentine spirit alive in your daily life on only on this valentine day. Nothing's wrong with caring and loving someone everyday, isn't it? It's also commanded by God to do so, to love Him with all your hearts and to love your neighbors as you love yourself.
Love never fails, therefore don't be upset when the people we love and care about do not reply in the way that we have been expecting.

To love is daring to take all the consequences that may come with it. It's the most wonderful feeling when someone you love loves you back in return. If it is a true love, sure you will feel hurt many times but strong enough to bear the pain...

As love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

At last happy valentine again, share it with the person you love
*listening to You Belong to Me....(humming)*

Making up my mind

I used to say I would like to go home really bad to start my carreer and celebrate my parents' 25th anniversary. The other time I liked to say I think I'd like to stay here a bit longer, get a job, stay close with him, continue serving my Lord in Xrds. There was no one certain answer, yes I was confused.

I think I start making up my mind........I'm trying my best to stay in Holland and finding a fixed job, if I can't find one till then..I'm going back for good :) I may be feeling sad when finally I have to go back to Indonesia for good without getting a job. However, if I never tried and did some efforts to find job here and just go back, I would be much sorry for myself.

It's hard to look from God's point of view but He always reminds me to keep trying and keep praying...so that I may find out what He has been preparing for me in the future.
Once my good friend told me that for each of us, God actually has provided a reward somewhere there...the problem is how can we run after it. Just like in a running competition, the reward is there waiting in the finish line, but how can we get it if we never start running to reach it.

Well I think that what life is all about... :)