Almost two years have passed, and still, this serial is number 1 in my heart. Well, it’s practically the only TV series I really watch, but anyways…
This episode easily became my new favourite, it is just too funny for words!
The horror in her eyes at 0:50… PRICELESS! 
I’ve finally found some time to play with Photoshop again after so long (oh how I miss you… *SMOOCH*!!).. And I stumbled upon this really interesting website that tutors us how to edit normal pictures into vintage/lomo-esque style.
Fake, but it does work like a charm… don’t you think?
I always loved this one, but the mood is just not bold enough… I think the shades-contrast-tone helped make the photo much more dramatic.
Incheon International Airport, South Korea. I just wanted to see how it looked like in black and white.. And I love it!
A cute couple hugging each other tightly at Nami Island (it was -15 degree Celsius after all!).
A bit off focus, and I totally went mad with the sharpness.. but why don’t I care? hehehe
**
Ahhh… I told you I LOVE June… In fact, I believe everybody does! (admit it now, people… =D)
I can’t believe it’s ending already in 24 hours time! Aaaaaa…. Bring me back my June!!!
PS: Please be decent and add this link if you want to copy the photos elsewhere. Thanks!
A true friend to me is…
Someone who tries to respect my feelings even when they don’t understand.
Someone who listens and keeps my stories only for themselves.
Someone who offers to have a cup of tea without me asking, just because they sense that I am not okay.
Someone who trusts and shares to me as much as I do in return.
Someone who quotes my words and make me feel important to their lives.
Someone who doesn’t need to push me to tell them my problems because I will come to them eventually when I want to.
Someone who empathizes with actions. And words only if necessary.
Someone who knows how to deal with those who have treated me wrong without me telling them what to do.
And most importantly…
Someone to whom I can give these words, not because they make a good present, but because I mean every word, from my deepest heart.
**
This is a birthday gift for a very special friend of mine, they say that it is impossible to find real friends in worklife, but we have proved them wrong…
Or maybe we are simply the exception =)
Happy birthday, Cel… What would I do without you?
And to all my dearest, sincerest friends… I love you and I’m so lucky to have you! ^^
Only the present has power over our lives.
Never stop having doubts. If you ever do,it will be because you’ve stopped moving forward. On the other hand, you must be careful never to allow doubt to paralyze you. Always take the decisions you need to take, even if you’re not sure you’re doing the right thing. You’ll never go wrong if, when you make a decision, you keep in mind: “the Devil is in the detail.” Remember that proverb and you’ll always be able to turn a wrong decision into a right one.
**
I hate to say this, but reading Brida by Paulo Coelho was such a torture to me. I was beating myself up for not being able to finish The Valkyries before (trust me, it was even more painful), and practically finish this book only for my personal achievement, not by any pleasure whatsoever. Finishing it 5 days over the due date: my birthday, I am a bit disappointed (with my tardiness) yet so relieved that it’s finally over.
Maybe there was just no connection between me and Brida, maybe she just wasn’t human and relatable enough for me, but one thing for sure, this book (as all Coelho’s books) contains so many wonderful and useful quotes. If not for today, we can always keep them for the future…
***
Nothing will behave in the logical way you have come to expect. You will understand things only with your heart, and that can be a little frightening.
Yes it is frightening indeed, especially when you’re practically right-brain-dead.
*
Play your part and don’t worry about what others do. Believe that God also speaks to them, and that they are as engaged as you are in discovering the meaning of life.
So just QUIT sticking your noses up other people’s lives & business while yours is a mess itself! (yes, I’m talking to me… and maybe you)
*
“He doesn’t have the point of light above his left shoulder” he argued, “you told me that yourself”. But she didn’t care. Before she finally meet her Soul Mate, she wanted to know other men, to experience the world.
High five, Wicca!
*
A present from me to you. That is one of the eleven secret temples of the tradition of the moon. A gift of love & gratitude for the fact that you exist and because I have waited so long to find you.
Okay, this is just too sweet even I cried.
*
She had known love before, but until that night love had also meant fear.
Tell me about it!
*
I felt really useful and started telling him everything I knew, feeling that the many years I’d spent in the region at last had some meaning. That man sitting on the steps made me understand that I was important to the world and to the history of my country. I felt necessary, and that’s the best feeling a human being can have.
I couldn’t agree more.
*
Finding one important thing in your life doesn’t mean you have to give up all the other important things.
*coughing and leering at my best buddies*
*
172 Being human means having doubts and yet still continuing on your path.
175 Witches were, above all else, women.
176 She didn’t need to neglect her beauty in order to prove that she was also intelligent and capable.
183 Remember, the first road to God is prayer, the second is joy.
203
Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”
“How will I know which is which?”
“By the taste. You can only know a good wine if you have first tasted a bad one.”
209
“That is what the forest taught me. That you will never be mine, and that is why I will never lose you. You were my hope during my days of loneliness, my anxiety during moments of doubt, my certainty during moments of faith.
210
“I will always remember you, and you will remember me, just as we will remember the evening, the rain on the windows, and all the things we’ll always have because we cannot possess them.”
***
I definitely need a long break from his works for now.
With no intentions of underestimating the profession of doctors (particularly in Indonesia), I would like to share a bit of my experience which leads me to this gratitude that I failed the National Test (SPMB) for Unpad Med School back in 2003 (and I never even wanted to move to Bandung!) and UI School of Dentistry in 2004 (and I never even wanted to be a dentist!).
Maybe God is finally showing the answers to my questions back then: WHY did I fail to escape this mad scientist world? After being such a good and nice and religious girl all this time… Why, God? Whyyyy?
Well, to answer questions with questions: why settle being a doctor when you’re capable of something “better”? 
Evidences:
SCENE 1
I caught the most unimportant yet most irritating disease ever: INFLUENZA. And no I’m not being a drama queen, but when you can’t breathe for weeks and your head is all heavy while you must keep working 24/7, you don’t have many options but to visit your nearest doctor. Even if he’s young, just graduated, and sees you as one of his experimental rabbits.
Doctor: “If this condition persists, you may want to have your blood checked.”
Me : *shrieks* “Is it really that bad, Doc?”
Doctor: “We can’t tell yet, but if the level of your eosinophil increases, then we’ll know that there must be an infection.”
Me: (excited because the word “eosinophil” totally rang a bell from years of studying Physiology + Histology) “Oh, it’s my white blood cells, isn’t it?”
Doctor: … (thinks for a second) “Oh no, it’s not…”
Me: huh? *frowning, starting to doubt the competency of this dude* “What is it then?”
Doctor: “It’s some tissue, that can indicate whether you are infected by bacteria…blablabla….” *smiles convincingly*
Me (monologues inside my head): Oh my, WHERE ON EARTH DID HE GO TO SCHOOL?
*
SCENE 2
Being a female, society has obliged me to at least care about looks and beauty. So when my zits went out of control, I just had to try this dermatologist my friend suggested. He looked old, anxious, very restless… and reckless.
Doctor: “Oh sweet Lord, look at that!”
Me: “err.. yes, look at me” (surprised by the over-enthusiasm he showed)
Doctor: “What have you been eating? Are you taking any vitamins??”
Me: “Well, there is this supplement I’m taking, but it should be reducing skin problems really…”
Doctor: “What is it? What is it? Let me see…”
Me: (hands over my Primrose Herbals)
Doctor: “OH NOOO! You shouldn’t be consuming this, it contains flavonoids and all…”
Me: “What’s wrong with that?” (recalling that flavonoid is one of the chemicals I studied for my thesis and as far as I read, it acts as antioxidant, anti-cancer, and even anti-acne)
Doctor: “It will worsen your acne!”
Me: “Really? Aren’t those chemicals supposed to be good for our body?”
Doctor: ”IT IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN! STOP CONSUMING ALL THESE USELESS SUPPLEMENTS IF YOU WANT TO HAVE CLEAR SKINNN!”
Me (shocked): “Okay, okay! ….Geez!”
Some mental institution must be missing one of their patients.
*
It kinda tickled me though. At times like that, it does seem obvious that KNOWLEDGE DOESN’T MAKE MONEY. That’s perhaps the reason why some people see academicians as “unsuccessful”. That earning high degrees and doing a bunch of researches or becoming a scientist means nothing — if not embarrassing — to most people. When the parameter is money, then sadly, it does make sense. After all, we live in this cruel world to survive. And to survive, owning enough (or plenty) money is fundamental.
I have met many who prioritize career and money, even if that means putting aside the other life aspects (in this case I learned from one of my students’ parent).
Her: “I don’t want my child to study too hard. My classmates back in highschool (she went to the best highschool in Jakarta)… I can finger-count those who succeeded!”
Us (me & partner): “Oh really?”
Her: “Yeah, the rest only became… you know… academicians…”
Me: *feeling somewhat attacked & offended
Her: “My cousin is the worst case… He is super smart, but he can’t work with people. Do you know what he does now? He sells these hiking equipments because hiking is his hobby! I mean, can you believe it?!”
Me: *Yikes.. strike two! (this time not for me though)
Her: “That is why, I realized that life skill is more important than knowledge… Of course academics is important for cognition, reasoning and all… But it’s not the only thing we need to succeed.”
It was great to finally meet a sane and smart parent. She knows exactly what she’s doing, she knows exactly what she’s saying. Because later on she adds:
Her: “I understand that my children need extra attention from me (she came that day because her daughter got into trouble at school). No matter how much her Dad helps, in the end as the mother I end up taking care of every little things. The only solution would be me stop working, wouldn’t it? *laughs*
Us: *laughs politely, can’t wait to hear more
Her: But you know, we have to make choices in life. And I can’t just leave my business I have worked on for years, can I?”
Well there is the answer, smart lady.
It is your choice to put career and money above your family. It is your classmates’ choice to get high educations and become academicians. It is your cousin’s choice to convert his hobby into a job. And referring to previous stories, it is also those doctors’ choice to earn as much money for a living, even if it takes some lying and fooling people around (and our choice to actually pay them to fool us!).
Who are we to say which is successful, which is not? We all have our own values, perspectives, and life missions, don’t we?
And when we speak about thinking “out of the box”, whose and which box are we referring to?
Who are we to say that something is entirely right or wrong?
Even a dead clock will be right twice a day.
*
(I know that I’m still green and barely know anything… But hey, even I can’t be completely wrong 
)
In neurophysiology, the all-or-none law states that:
Certain structures, such as a neurone or a muscle fibre, either respond completely (all) or not at all (none) to a stimulus. There is no partial nerve impulse in a neurone, or partial contraction of a muscle fibre.
**
The same thing applies to some things in life:
You either have it, or you don’t.
You either want it, or you don’t.
You either click with a certain people, or you don’t.
Yes or no, and nothing in between. No ifs or buts. Sounds rigid, cantankerous, and perhaps a little extremist, but sometimes life is just as simple as that.
Sometimes we just don’t need no dramas, sometimes there are just no gray areas.
So PLEASE….. cut the crap make up your mind already!
Recently we finally had a very useful and applicable seminar. It talked about being bilingual and how it affects a child’s brain development. Apparently, limited bilingualism in a child (not fluent in any language – as in reading, writing, speaking: semantic meaning, grammar, vocabularies, pronunciation) shows negative effects on its cognitive development; partial bilingualism (native in only one language) shows neither positive nor negative effects; while proficient bilingualism (high level in both languages) shows positive cognitive effects.
Here’s a diagram I tried to create based on my note:
Let’s leave the scientific studies to the experts (do read it, it’s interesting). But as for me, I’d like to have my real life samples as proof of how higher level of bilingualism does show higher level of thinking. And that includes better judgements, reasoning, deeper analytical skills, broader knowledge, and even more wisdom.
*
People with edge and a sense of wit usually belong to the upper level of bilingualism/cognition. I have known people who are fluent in more than one language and they do appear to have a more interesting outlook on life. One of my students is Spanish native, but she is forced to strengthen both her English and Bahasa in order to follow the lessons. I’ve had a lot of fun talking and discussing about so many things with her.
She once asked me: “Miss, do you believe in God? And that the world will end someday?”
or “Do you believe in Big Bang? How do you know that it really happened? Science is stupid!” But then I find her reading all the books about the creation of the Universe provided in class.
And after I explained to them about the possibility of a huge asteroid hitting the Earth on April 2029, she came to me looking somewhat annoyed,
“I was fine before, but now because of you, I am going to die!”
Now isn’t she hilarious
Companies really should realize this and appreciate their bilingual local employees instead of worshipping those with blue eyes and blond hair just because they “sell”. Those British, Americans, Australians, Canadians; they don’t master bilingualism, therefore there is no reason to underestimate, undervalue, and underpay those who actually speak two languages, those with better brain development. Okay, I’ll shut up before they read this and sue me. But I hope you get the point, big boss.
“Bilinguals look at problems at different ways.”
“Competent bilinguals feel good about themselves and have pride in their culture.”
The downside is, people with this level of competency have the potential to be arrogant, if not balanced with a sense of modesty and humbleness. Trust me, I’ve met people who are proficient in three (or maybe four) languages who are completely heartless and shameless. And I have to say, that is not impressive *shakes head disappointedly*
*
Then there is the “second class” in this version of human classification. Some students whom I thought are pretty smart with good understandings, show that they still struggle on one of the languages. Some of the Indonesian students speak English all the time, but they don’t read, write, or speak Bahasa appropriately. Some others read, write, and speak Bahasa in good manners, only they neglect the importance to train their English.
These students still have hope to improve their potentials, if they are encouraged to keep on trying. The thing to worry about is the adults who already feel satisfied with their skill of language, who assume that their brains are so superior that they need not learn anything anymore. Being shallow, judgy, petty, and tend to prioritize the insignificant are some of the characteristics of these people. For your own research, the next time you meet people who show those symptoms, try to find out whether they are bilingual or not.
*
The last, the lowest class (I am not discriminating, note that I am referring to the chart ). Some people (and sadly, some of my students as well) show very poor linguistic skills. Let alone second language, they don’t even master their mother tongue proficiently. As in they don’t respect the need to use language appropriately, be it written, read, or spoken. Those in this level tend to write and speak thoughtlessly. And to me, that starts with the spelling.
click here and have fun making your own twisted sentence!
I believe more studies are required to really conclude that people who write absurdly like the one on the second box do have negative cognitive development. But the idea of brutally ruining our language like this, really is such a big concern about the future of this country. Oh my!
Related links:
Benefits of being bilingual.
Bilingualism strengthens cognitive development.
Bilingual language acquisition.
- : Ya pasti gondoklah kalo kaya gitu.
+: Iya sih, tapi sampe kapan gw mau gondok, rugi amat! Lagian itung-itung nolong oranglah.
- : Nolong gimana?
+: Ya iya, udah “ngasi makan”, “ngasi jasa” pula! Jadi manusia harus berguna buat manusia laen kan? Pahalanya banyak tuh!
- : Pahala lo langsung ilang begitu lo selesai ngumbar-ngumbar barusan…
**
Thanks to Pon2 for the talk today. We all have a little bit of demons and angels inside of us anyway.
I pack my case. I check my face.
I look a little bit older.
I look a little bit colder.
With one deep breath, and one big step, I move a little bit closer.
I move a little bit closer.
For reasons unknown.
I caught my stride.
I flew and flied.
I know if destiny’s kind, I’ve got the rest of my mind.
But my heart, it don’t beat, it don’t beat the way it used to.
And my eyes, they don’t see you no more.
And my lips, they don’t kiss, they dont kiss the way they used to, and my eyes don’t recognize you no more.
The Killers – For Reasons Unknown
**
I used to refuse the idea of having a “crisis” at the peak of our lives. I mean, puberty? Okay, we get confused not knowing what the hell is going on with our body, having our hormones raging for the very first time. Menopause? Definite hell, having our ovary becoming dysfunctional without us having any power to stop or delay. Feelings of confusion, uselessness, helplessness, doubts, loneliness… As you can tell, those are not restricted to hormonal effects only. Socially and psychologically speaking, we do undergo a boat-rocking experience starting at the age of 20-something of our lives.
Maybe what I object is the term “crisis”. Why don’t they use a much friendlier word, such as “syndrome”, or “stage”, or “phase”, or “condition”? Wouldn’t that make everyone feel more lighthearted in dealing with it? But hell no, we just have to overdramatize things. So a crisis it is.
There are numbers of articles writing about it, but this is how I see it (how weird, just as soon as I deny it, this “crisis” slaps me harder than any bitch could):
1. You start to understand that most things which came out of the blue will go straight back into it, and stay there.
2. You have a mental picture of how you want your life to be, but have doubts here and there whether that is really what you want.
3. You miss your friends, because somehow everyone you used to be close to, start having lives that no longer involve you.
4. You lose interest in online social networking, realizing that there is really nothing to prove there.
5. You love your job, then you wonder whether it is really time to settle.
6. You hate your job, but can’t seem to find any solution that can be done right here right now.
7. You love your partner, but doubt whether it’s the best decision to stay with them till death do you apart.
8. You start new relationships, questioning if you will be just wasting your time on the wrong one, again.
9. You wonder when and where you will find “the one”, and can’t wait to finally do.
10. You start to realize how important saving is.
11. You don’t feel too sad or upset anymore when people disappoint you.
12. You realize that your problems have grown bigger and heavier, only this time you are well-prepared to deal with them. And they seem small.
13. You want to escape to an isolated island, or mountain, just to find peace of mind.
14. You blog again (due to number 4), only this time you try to use words more wisely.
15. You see younger generations, and wonder: how worse can the next-generations-to-come be? (Or is it just me?)
16. You understand that those loved-ones who are always there for you, will have nothing to do with what you really need to do. And you will execute life on your own no matter what.
17. You reminisce past moments in life: everything that happened, everyone that came and went, and smile that they did.
**
All in all, everyone goes and went through this. It’s not a crisis, it’s just a phase we all go through.
And as I was doing number 17, I found this on the first page of my thesis (yes, I reread it with pride)…
You shall certainly travel from stage to stage (in this life and in the Hereafter).
~Al-Inshiqaq : 19
It is already written in the Holy Quran that nothing lasts, and this too shall pass.
So, why not have a happy quarter-life?
You Are Progressive and Unpredictable |
 When You Are Comfortable: You are cutting edge, offbeat, and even a little weird. You are fascinated with trends and technology. People see you as a bit strange. They’re not sure what they should expect of you. You are definitely apt to do your own thing. When You Are At Your Best: You are a sensitive, gentle soul. You want to save the world… or as much of it as possible. People see you as unselfish and well mannered. You truly enjoy being around others, and it shows. When You Are in a Social Setting: You are well-read and well-informed. You have educated yourself a lot, and you have many deeply held beliefs. People see you as candid and outspoken. You have an opinion on everything, and you don’t shy away at making it known. |
The Key to Your Life is Levity |
 Anything good in your life comes from your ability to play and be free. The best way for you to solve a problem is to let go of it. Anything bad in your life comes from other people trying to bring you down. Others often see you as a threat, and there are some people who are jealous of all your strengths. |
Your Career Personality: Detail-Oriented, Observant, and Hard-Working |
 Your Ideal Careers: Designer Family counselor Independent store owner Interior decorator Museum curator Nurse Preschool teachers Social worker Stay at home parent Teacher |
Try them and see if they work on you as well! ^^
 | kuchikuchi on Hello, goodbye? |
 | BhanuPrakash on Hello, goodbye? |
 | Hello, goodbye? … on I miss June |
 | francis on Sunset at Dreamland, Bali |
| kuchikuchi on All, or Not At All |
