My morning lessons ^.^ (a friend's testimonial)

Hi gals,

Just wanna share one funny exp. I had this morning, agak panjang, tp just read it when u have the time & the mood yah J.

It all started when I got the urged to skip out from the office, and I chose MMC as my destination, skalian ngambil cream muka baru yg ditawarin sm dokter di MMC (scr jerawat gw lg gak sopan bertengger dgn indahnya di tip of my nose-merah matang dan siap dipencet) *cuuuzzzz…..

Eniwey, stelah puas berbasa basi busuk dgn org2 MMC, gw reluctantly balik ke kantor, sambil menumpang si burung biru. Pembicaraan awal gw dgn si bapak driver mrpkn perbincangan std : menginformasikan tempat tujuan dan mendiskusikan jalur terbaik yg harus diambil.

Namun, ada satu hal yang menarik perhatian gw di burung biru yg gw tumpangi itu. Ada2 gelas air mineral diselipkan di belakang kursi penumpang yg ada di depan gw. Si bapak driver itu dengan ramah dan sopannya berkata : “mba, kalau haus, silahkan loh diminum air mineral itu. Gratis. “

Mendengar kata2 itu, gw terdiam bbrp detik sambil berusaha mencerna dgn benar, jgn2 gw salah dnger lg nih, dan untuk keduakalinya si Bapak driver itu meyakinkan gw bahwa air mineral itu memang khusus dia sediakan untuk penumpangnya, menurutnya itu salah satu pelayanan yang bisa ia berikan pada penumpangnya.

Banyak yg menanyakan kepadanya (tmasuk gw) apakah tdk rugi memberikan air mineral gratis spt itu? Yg gw salut adalah jawaban yg keluar dari mulutnya: Nggak mba, saya percaya kalau kita terlebih dahulu memberi, pasti deh kita menerima, gak musti dalam bentuk yang sama, tapi dgn berbuat kebaikan, pasti saya akan menerima kebaikan juga suatu saat nanti. *dzink* (lgs
berpikir mbri lebih-an yg banyak utk taxi fare-nya).

gw tertohog sambil terkagum2 dgn bapak ini, pria yg mgkn in his late 30s, perawakannya kurus, dan yg gw perhatikan dari pantulan kaca spion, sinar matanya yg ceria yg memperlihatkan kumpulan kerutan di sudut matanya setiap kali dia tertawa, serta his bone structure yg tdk mirip dgn bone structure orang2 Indonesia(baca:pribumi) pd umumnya. Hidung serta ruas2 tulang tangan dan kakinya, menunjukkan ada “bibit bule-nya” nih orang J.

Ternyata ia baru saja menekuni profesi driver burung biru selama 2 bulan belakangan ini. Sebelumnya, dia adalah driver di Deplu untuk selama 13tahun, dan sudah seringkali mengantarkan tamu2 negara maupun para duta besar. Menurutnya, dia “dipaksa” berhenti dari Deplu karena dia mengalami kecelakaan parah, hingga kepalanya hancur (menurutnya, di batok kepalanya, ada besi yg menggantikan beberapa bagian yg remuk) ; dan sempat koma selama
1 bulan. Tidak ada yg menyangka dia akan hidup through that, but miraculously, he lived.

Dia menguasai 2 bahasa asing dgn fasih (inggris & belanda), bhs Inggris dia kuasai dari hasil pendidikan formal, dan utk bahasa belanda, ia kuasai hy karena mrpkn bahasa sehari-hari yg ia gunakan di rumah bsm ibunya (his grandma was originally from Holland), dan karena kemampuannya berbahasa belanda itu jg, skitar 2 minggu yg lalu, ia mdptkan bonus 100rb dari
penumpangnya yg mrpk org Belanda (krn ia mengantarkan mrk & mjd guide dadakan utk turis2 blanda itu mngunjungi oud Batavia), dan ia dah dibuking oleh turis2 blanda itu sabtu ini utk mngantarkan mrk ke Bogor, mngunjungi Istana Bogor.

Asli sangking kagumnya, gw banyak terdiam saat mndngarkan cerita dr si bpk driver itu. Kata2 yg sempat kluar di mulut gw cm : ooooh…aaahhh, ohyaaa???
WOW!!! Lalu??? Hebaaat… waaaahhh……wuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih…………*ngangamode
sampe gw brasa tnggorokan gw kering krn klamaan nganga*

It was suatu perjalanan yg sangat singkat utk cerita yg sangat menarik.
(except expressions2 gak penting gw itu yah)

Pas si burung biru tiba di lobby starbucks, pengen rasanya gw meminta dia utk memutar mobilnya dan mengantarkan gw ke oud Batavia, sambil mendengarkan cerita pengalaman hidupnya itu. Tp sayang, tumpukan email dan kertas2 kerjaan sudah berteriak di kuping gw dgn lantangnya. LSatu hal yg lucu saat gw selesai melakukan pembayaran, gw sapa si bapak dgn
namanya (August A.K) , “dank jij well August, tot ziens” dan si bapak itu hanya tertawa sambil berkata : nama saya teh Agus mba, itu mah cm ejaan warisan dari Oma saya. “Hartelijk dank non, Tot ziens”



*gracias*

The Worker’s 23rd Psalm

The Lord is my boss, and I shall not want.

He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.

He reminds me to pray, before I speak in anger.

He restores my sanity.

He guides my decisions that I might honor Him in all I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mail, system failures, copier jams, back-ordered supplies, unrealistic deadlines, staff shortages, budget cutbacks, red tape, downsizing, gossiping co-workers and whining customers,

I won't give up, for You are with me.

Your presence, peace and power will see me through.

You raise me up, even when the boss fails to promote me.

You claim me as your own, even when the company threatens to let me go.

Your loyalty and love are better than a bonus check.

Your retirement plan beats any 401K, and when it's all said and done,

I'll be working for you a whole lot longer!

(Author unknown)

A few hours before Jakarta's Birthday

Terispirasi karena banyak yg bertanya mengenai kondisi gw. Thanks everyone!

Karena tugas jam 10 malam, gw memutuskan utk brangkat dr rumah (di Sunrise) skitar jam 21.00. Gw naik bis kopaja 88 (Kalideres-Slipi) di Daan Mogot, duduk di deretan tengah. Terus pas deretan belakang kosong, gw pindah ke belakang. Dgn maksud, lbh banyak kena angin dan karena kaki gw panjang, duduk pun jd lebih lega (baca : slonjoran).
Setelah perempatan lampu merah Tomang, naik 3 orang-yg-mnrt feeling-gw-adl-copet. Gw ga bs gambarin ciri2 mereka krn penerangan pun tdk mendukung utk bs melihat mrk dgn jelas. Satu orang duduk di deretan belakang, dua orang duduk di deretan depan. Abis itu, satu orang pindah juga ke deretan belakang. Kasak kusuk nanya ini itu ... Gw tetep cuek. Pas mereka mau merubah posisi duduk dgn tujuan "mengapit" gw, gw bilang aja dgn cool "Wah mesti turun neh ganti bus". Gw pikir dlm hati klo gw tetep di situ kayaknya ga' kan bagus. Sblm lampu merah Slipi, gw dah turun. Tepatnya di halte ex-Gedung LIA. Krn situasi di daerah perempatan Slipi rame bgt klo gw memutuskan utk turun di Slipi yg ada malah gw jadi diteriakin maling dan bisa runyam. Kalo berantemnya ga masalah *sok bgt* Cuma efek di hari-hari besok. Siapa tau mereka preman2 Slipi. Kan gw lewat tiap hari.

Thanks God I am fine and now it's time to sleep. Selamat ulang tahun, Jakarta!

Moral dr pengalaman td malem : just calm down, jangan sotoy, better avoid it ....

Are You in a Position to be Blessed?

When I was a boy growing up in the Deep South, I occasionally went fresh water fishing in the bayous near my home. As directed by the more experienced fishermen, I learned to cast a top water fly close to the appropriate target in the hopes of attracting a large mouth bass; likely under a low hanging branch or fallen tree. Over the years, I was as successful as my companions and considered myself an able fly fisherman

Many years later, I moved to Georgia, near the Florida border. As I met new people, I noticed that many of my friends had large stuffed bass on their walls, much larger than those I had caught in my home state. Soon I had the opportunity to go fishing with a friend from church. This older gentleman, an experienced and successful angler, used an entirely different method than I had learned. Rather than casting flies on top of the water, he used sinking lures that he cast near the bank and retrieved rhythmically, raising and lowering the lure in the water as he reeled it in. Sure enough, that morning he caught a prize bass.

What I discovered was that, despite years of fishing, I didn’t know much about catching the big ones. And to top it off, I had not been fishing in the best place! Let’s just say that, in Georgia and Florida, five to ten pound bass are much more common than where I come from.

I am reminded of the story of a young man who needed a job badly. Day after day, he prayed for something to show up in the mail, but no offer came. He was just about flat broke when he cried out to God in anguish, pleading for a job. Suddenly, he heard a voice, clearly and distinctly: “Fill out an application and send it in.”

My point is that we need to put ourselves in a position where God can bless us. The scriptures offer numerous examples of saints whom God instructed to move to a place of receiving.

If you visit any warehouse, you’ll notice that there is both a receiving dock for incoming freight and a shipping dock for outgoing packages. Why? Simply because the receiving dock is organized and prepared to receive goods and then process them. If inbound cargo were to arrive at the shipping dock, it would disrupt the flow of materials.

Are you expecting goods but working some place other than the “Receiving Dock?” And, if so, have you thought about relocating to a place where God is more likely to bless you? God’s children need to be prepared to receive.

If you are a gifted mathematician, shouldn’t you attend MIT, Stanford, or a similar place where the instruction you need is offered? If you want to learn Italian, shouldn’t you consider a semester in Italy, where the finer points of the language are used? To carry the point to the obvious, if you want to swim, find a pool and jump in.

The scriptures contain many examples of God instructing His children to go to a place of blessing. In 2 Timothy 3:16, The Lord tells the thirsty Israelites to “Make this valley full of ditches.” In other words, prepare to receive what you want: water. If they had not prepared, what would they do when the water arrived?

In John 21:1-6, Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, and John had been fishing all night without anything to show for it. In the morning, Jesus told them to “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of them!” (Living Bible) They simply needed to obediently put themselves in a position to be blessed. If you have a fear of failure, just remember that you’re not responsible for the outcome, you’re just responsible for obeying.

Acts 1:4 tells us that the apostles were to wait in a particular place, Jerusalem, for the blessing of the Holy Spirit. “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise ….”

You may feel that where you are is really not where God wants you to be. A good indicator of being in the wrong place would be an unhealthy emotional climate, where your skills are not used fully. You may decide that you would be better off elsewhere, perhaps in a place more fitting with Christian values.

As the bride of Christ, you should “fit in with your husband's plans.” (1 Peter 3:1, The Living Bible) Accept that God wants to fulfill His purposes in your life, including giving you the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:4) Then, actively cooperate with the Lord about getting to the place of blessing. Like Paul, Timothy, Mark, and many others, be a fellow laborer with Christ.

“And if you do as I say in this letter, then you, too, will be full of joy, and so will we.” (1 John 1:4, The Living Bible.)

Source: By Curtis C. Mosley © 2003
http://www.livingthesolution.com/positiontobeblessed.htm

Don't be an avoider!

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature am a slave to the law of sin.
—Romans 7:21-25

At times, most of us avoid doing what we instinctively know is good. It’s funny how this works: We avoid things that could benefit our lives and run toward those things that could be destructive.

For example, many of us know we should be eating more nutritious foods to benefit our health, but we avoid the discomfort of changing our habits of cooking. Or, some of us know we need to exercise more, but avoid the discomfort of having to change our schedule in order to do so.

When it comes to spiritual disciplines, like prayer, studying the Bible or meditating on God’s Word, we often avoid doing what we know we should do. In all areas of life, too often we seek the things that can hurt us and while we should embrace the things that can benefit our lives, we don’t.

Somebody once said to me, “The things we avoid are usually the things we need to embrace.” I’ve thought about that quite a bit, and I agree with the statement. The Scriptures are our guide in this area. The Bible is clear that we should be doing everything in our power to embrace those things that will bring God’s blessing into our lives. For example, the Apostle Paul said both “Flee temptation” and “Whatever you do, do all in the name of Jesus.”

Now is the time to take a strong stand against those realities that can damage your life or detract you from experiencing the purposes of God. Resolve not to be an avoider. Don’t put off anything that could bring you closer to what God has in store for you!

Seeking and looking

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5

I realize I am guilty of looking but not really seeing. Right in front of me, God’s wisdom sits like jewels of heaven ready and waiting to be captured and used. Too often, I “drive” through life not looking left or right but speeding ahead to my next stop. If we aren’t looking carefully, we’ll miss all God has. Wisdom is often found amongst things not easily seen, yet right there all along, to be discovered when you seek it. Today, be reminded that Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Have a blessed day!

The Passion of God

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Romans 5:8

Personally, I have a passion for backpacking-vacations, my hubee Tepho, my Performing Arts team, my DATEr, walking on the beach, and off course God. Sometimes I will spend 3-4hours per day for practise, or work extra days to afford a vacation on the beach in Bali and I will not miss Naughty Nuri's. Passion usually involves a deep love and a deep sacrifice for something or someone.

What's your passion? What do you think about during the day and dream about at night? What are you willing to love deeply and love sacrificially?

I wonder for a moment what is the passion of God. Then the answer comes to me. You and I are the passion of God. God has a one-track mind. He loves me. He created me. He gives me life and breath. He brings me new life through the sacrificial death of Jesus.

With His love and His Holy Spirit, He passionately pursues me. Isn't it nice to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are loved with the passion of God?

Is it too difficult?

Jeremiah 32:27

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"

Have you ever found yourself in an overwhelming or daunting situation that seemed impossible to understand or face? Is it difficult to comprehend the plan or the purpose behind what you are going through? Do you find yourself asking, “Why Lord?” Do you sometimes plead with God, “I don’t know what to do or how to do it. I need You to make it through this!” … Yeaahhh, I feel it now.

Personally, I have been in this position more times than I can count. I jump into an adventure full force thinking I have everything I need to make it happen, only to find out that I have merely a part of what is needed to do the job - not all of it. I am in over my head.

Life is sometimes like a test because we honestly believe we have it all together only to discover that some life circumstances are not on our radar and are certainly not part of the study guide. I have come to realize that these “tests” lead us to a deeper understanding of our need for God.

Luke 12:12 promises, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." I know that I am driven to seek God when I lose sight of what to do and I feel lost. He is our provider of ideas and the author of purpose in our lives - hence the word Inspiratio or inspiration.

Dear Sweet Father,
I know that You are with us at all times as the Holy Spirit gives us the thoughts and words we need to meet Your purpose for our lives. I have to admit I often I try to handle life on my own instead of trusting Your words and Your Spirit to guide me. Help me to fully rely on You, Lord, as a student in the school of life and to trust You with my “tests” knowing that I can’t “pass” without Your power and presence. Bless my Project Manager and strengthen him with Your awesome power. Thank You for loving and saving me and thank You for giving me the answers when I need them. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Penemu dari indonesia yang terlupakan

Ternyata kita mempunyai banyak ilmuwan serta pemikir yg hebat, selama ini kita mungkin cuma tahu dan selalu dihebohkan oleh kehebatan ilmuwan manca yg menjadi penemu dan banyak diantara mereka peraih nobel yg tersohor...

Berikut merupakan daftar penemu dari negeri tercinta INDONESIA yg mungkin kita tidak tahu :

1. Abdul Jamil Ridho & Niti Soedigdo - Penemu Varietas Unggul Singkong Raksasa

2. Adi Rahman Adiwoso - Penemu Teknologi Baru dalam Telepon Bergerak Berbasis Satelit

3. Alexander Kawilarang - Penemu Kapal Ikan Bersirip

4. Andrias Wiji Setio Pamuji - Penemu Reaktor Biogas

5. Arief Mulyana Djumra - Penemu Pemacu Produktifitas dan Kualitas Udang dan Ikan

7. Aryadi Suwono & Tim Peneliti ITB - Penemu Bahan Pendingin Baru yang Lebih Hemat Energi

8. Ayub S. Parnata - Penemu Bakteri Kompos Organik

9. Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie - Penemu Teori, Faktor dan Metode Habibie (Teknologi Pesawat Terbang)

10. Budi Noviantoro - Penemu Klip Penambat Bantalan Kereta Api dengan Dua Gigi

11. Dani Hilman Natawijaya - Penemu Indikator Alam (Terumbu Karang) terhadap Siklus Gempa

12. Djuanda Suraatmadja - Penemu Beton Polimer yang Ramah Lingkungan

13. Eddyman, Intan Elfarini & Kanaka Sundhoro - Penemu Obat Antinyamuk Alami dan Murah

14. Evvy Kartini - Penemu Penghantar Listrik Berbahan Gelas

15. Fuad Affandi - Penemu Pupuk Alami dari Air Liur

16. Herman Johannes - Penemu Tungku Berbahan Bakar Briket Arang Kayu dan Dedaunan

17. I Gede Ngurah Wididana - Penemu Formula Minyak Oles Bokhasi

18. I Made Budi - Penemu Formula Sari Buah Merah untuk Pengobatan

19. Lalu Selamat Martadinata - Penemu Alat Pemanggil Ikan

20. M. Djoko Srihono - Penemu Penjernih Air Limbah

21. Maruni Wiwin Diarti - Penemu Senyawa Antimikroba dari Rumput Laut

22. Minto - Penemu Kompor dan Pengering Hasil Tani dengan Tenaga Matahari

23. Mumu Sutisna - Penemu Hormon Penyubur Anakan Padi

24. Mulyoto Pangestu - Penemu Teknik Ekonomis Pembekuan Sperma

25. Neny Nurainy - Penemu Varian Virus Hepatitis B Indonesia

26. Puji Slamet Arif - Penemu Motor Listrik Hemat Energi

27. Rahmiana Zein - Penemu Teknik Pemisahan Cairan dalam Kecepatan Tinggi

28. Randall Hartolaksono - Penemu Formula Kimia Pemadam Api Ramah Lingkungan

29. Rizal & Juffri Sahroni - Penemu Penghemat Bahan Bakar Diesel

30. Robert Manurung - Penemu Minyak Jarak Murni

31. Saverinus Nurak - Penemu Mesin Pompa Tangan Berkekuatan Tinggi

32. Sutjipto & Ryantori - Penemu Konstruksi Fondasi Sarang Laba-laba

33. Sutrisno - Penemu Alat Perangkap Lalat Buah

34. Sedijatmo - Penemu Konstruksi Fondasi Cakar Ayam

35. Septinus George Saa - Penemu Rumus Penghitung antara Dua Titik Rangkaian Resistor

36. Sofin Hadi - Penemu Metode Cincin untuk Sunat Tanpa Luka

37. Sri Wuryani, Mustadjab, Euis M. Nirmala, Siwi Hardiastuti - Penemu Pengawet Aroma dalam Hampa

38. Tjokorda Raka Sukawati - Penemu Landasan Putar Bebas Hambatan Sosrobahu

39. Warsimin Adiwarsito - Penemu Marmer Buatan

39. Widowati Siswomihardjo - Penemu Bahan Baru untuk Gigi Palsu yang Lebih Aman dan Murah

40. Windu Hernowo - Penemu Penghemat Bahan Bakar Mesin

41. Yanto Lunardi Iskandar - Anggota Tim Penemu HIV & Metode Peningkatan Hematopoiesis

43. Yudi Utomo Imardjoko - Penemu Kontainer Limbah Nuklir

44. Zahlul Badaruddin - Penemu Zahlul Integrated Unit (Desain Sistem Efisien untuk Produksi Obat/Kimia)

45. Joko Suprapto - Penemu mesin tenaga air laut

46. Liem Tiang Gwan - ahli Radar (radio detection and ranging) yang mendunia

47. Joko Sasmito - Penemu Biochip Kedokteran

48. Prof Sutaryo - Penemu Cara Mudah Deteksi DB

Twitter (From Reuters)

BOSTON (Reuters) - A tiny fraction of those who use the fast-growing social network phenomenon Twitter generate nearly all the content, a Harvard study shows.

That makes it hard for companies to use the micro-blogging site as an accurate gauge of public opinion, the Harvard Business School study showed.

Twitter Inc is a social networking website in which users post messages of 140 characters or less -- known as "tweets" -- that can be viewed by other users who elect to follow them.

The Harvard study examined public entries of a randomly selected group of 300,000 Twitter users. The researchers studied in May the content created in the lifetime of the users' Twitter accounts.

It found that 10 percent of Twitter users generated more than 90 percent of the content, said Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, who led the research. More than half of all Twitter users post messages on the site less than once every 74 days.

The median number of lifetime "tweets" per user is just one, according the research.
Companies are increasingly turning to Twitter to improve their understanding of how consumers view them, he said.
But some users are far more active and vocal than others, limiting information gleaned from messages on the site, said Piskorski, an assistant professor of strategy at Harvard Business School.

"If you're trying to get what a representative cross-section of the public is thinking, you're probably better off staying away from Twitter," he said in an interview.

Piskorski said Twitter could still be useful in responding to specific customer concerns. It can also be effective marketing, as companies with Twitter accounts can advertise sales and deals to users who follow them on the site.

JetBlue Airways Corp, Comcast Corp and Dell Inc are among companies with Twitter accounts.
JetBlue provides information on Twitter such as announcements of terminal changes at airports and tips on how to pack and directly answers customers' questions. Dell uses Twitter to point customers to discounts. Comcast's account largely responds to customer gripes.

"Enough of our customers are talking about their interactions with us that we get a decent sample of what's going on on a daily basis that we wouldn't necessarily get from other long-term studies," JetBlue spokesman Morgan Johnston said in a telephone interview.

Unlike other social networking sites like Facebook.com, men are almost twice as likely to follow other men on Twitter than they were to follow women, according to the study.

Women were also more likely to follow men than they were to follow other female users.
Piskorski said the study did not indicate whether this was because women were asked less often to be followed or because women are more selective in accepting followers.

Follow up research to these findings will likely be released later this month, he said.
According to recent data compiled by Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, Twitter's website had more than 7 million unique visitors in February, compared to 475,000 in February 2008.

(Editing by Jason Szep and Eric Beech)

Time Machine or Forgiveness

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

A question : “Wouldn’t we all wish we had a time machine so that we could fix some of the problems we caused or mistakes we made in the past?” I’ve thought about that question quite a bit. I have to admit having a time machine would be a good thing to have, because I would love to have some “do-overs,” if given the chance.

Does anyone have a time machine? I think we could all use one. We all have some cleaning up that we could do. Unfortunately, time machines don’t exist. This is why we need forgiveness.

Jesus says that once we come before Him and confess our sins, He wipes the slate clean. He actually moves our sin and brokenness far from His heart, and looks on us as though we had never sinned.

That’s different than the time machine idea, isn’t it? A time machine depends on our fixing things that might help us feel better about ourselves. On the other hand, forgiveness leads to transformation of our hearts and lives by giving us a sense of freedom that goes beyond comparison. While “do-overs” would do us good, we need forgiveness more! We need freedom, not regret!

An Astonishing Flamenco Performance

Thanks to Ika who got the tickets for all of us. We were enjoying the-sweaty-part-by-Señor!

Tome a bailar con usted, Señor! (read : take me dance with you, Mister)

I could hardly contain my excitement as I stepped into the auditorium. Sitting on the audience seat before La Fragua performs was incredible. I ended up getting a nice seat. Row F, number 2,4,6,8,10. It was held at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, June 4,2009 at 08.00pm for 90minutes.

Behind of me, were some spanish guys screaming ‘Ole!’ every time their heart leaped with joy by the breathtaking actions the dancers and musicians did.

Watching Lola Rodriguez Jaramillo on stage last night was like meeting someone I adored in my previous life. The surprise, the awe, the experience were all brand new.

She entered from the left wing of the stage, and Jesus Herrera from the right. Now this man, I must say, looked a lot more handsome than I saw him in youtube. He wore black suit, same hair style, the same perspiration spraying out from it everytime he spins. Dramatic natural special effect! Darn!

Together they nailed the first dance item, transporting the feeling of lust and longing and clandestine love affair that they showed to the world by not showing it. Lola killed the audience with her back, torso and arms movements, and especially resurrected me from death and killed me again with her footworks.

And I believe I was actually in heaven of artistic souls when watching Jesus snap his fingers and become one with the beats his feet produced. I adored his eyes who beamed with passion, oblivious of thousand pairs of eyes which he enchanted. Dance for the sake of dancing.

The second bailaora came on stage (I have yet to find out her name). She wore black and was wrapped in red shawl. This dance piece that she brought, boasted more of rebelliousness, power and pride. She exhibited more of hand movements and executed stronger footwork. With her tall figure, the whole performance seemed phenomenal. I thought she was going to show some shawl attraction, but she kept the shawl buckled up on the back of her waist, left me curious.

But not for long, for after some mesmerizing musical piece done by Jose Manuel Tudela on guitar (yes, THAT spanish guitar) and Raul Fernandez Rodriguez on cajun drum, Lola came back.

Seeing her in that famous red polka-dotted white bata de cola and wrapped in red shawl, I knew she was going to show some amazing attractions. So, there she spin, kicking her dress’ tail and causing the stage dust to scatter and conspire with the other elements of the performance to create the supporting effects.

I was successfully stunned by her skill in playing with the shawl. Lola could make the shawl look alive just using one hand. Spinning it in the air, throwing it back to her body in such elegant ways. For one split second I had to make sure I wasn’t drooling.

Before I was fully recovered from the Lola Euphoria, she went out and replaced by Jesus. This bailaor came silently with an aura of a cyclone. Suit buttoned. Then, before he unbuttoned it, many spanish diplomats in suits had already began to unbutton theirs while screaming more of ‘Ole’s and reddening their palms from clapping too much. Jesus was simply spellbinding! He left me speechless with some even stronger and ridiculously fast footwork, impressive poses and of course the famous ‘many spins in one go’, something that we find a lot in kathak performances but not in flamenco dances.

I was also happy to see for the first time a flamenco dance with castanets performed by Lola and the other bailaora. The mood went up here, as castanets always intrigue somehow happiness and joy.

I don’t think it won’t be too much if I ask them to come back again next year, no? Otra mas!!!

PS: Here, I embed you clips of Compania Flamenco La Fragua doing one their best dances in bata de cola and shawl. Stunning!

Thanks to "The Light Bearer" for allowing and helping me in this story.

Source: http://thelightbearer.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/otra-mas/

Dragon Anatomy

Bromo Trip

Kedua kalinya kami akan melakukan perjalanan ke Bromo dengan status yg berbeda. Now, I am married to Yoses ”Otep” Adrianto. Perjalanan yg pertama tidak terlalu banyak diulas di http://http//claudiadoetz.multiply.com/photos/album/22. At least I put how much we spent for this Bromo trip :P



Pertama kalinya stepping our feet di Terminal 3 – Soekarno Hatta International Airport. It is so cool! (baca : norak) Dan kami berangkat pukul 06.50 dengan http://airasia.com/ ke Surabaya. Dijemput dari Lisa Travel dan langsung menuju Batu-Malang. Tidak disangka klo kami akan berkunjung ke Wisata Lumpur Lapindo. Dilemma? Yes … Berwisata di atas penderitaan orang tapi kami jg penasaran dengan kejadian yg biasanya kami lihat di TV. Yasudahlah …. Perjalanan memakan waktu kurang lebih 2-3jam karena kami harus melewati Pasar Porong di siang hari. Sesampainya di Batu, masakan tradisional Jawa Timur, yaitu Rawon yg sdh menanti di meja makan Hotel Santoso (bertetangga dekat dengan Hotel Selecta – Batu Malang). Tidak lama kami menghabiskan makan siang, kami melanjutkan perjalanan hunting oleh-oleh khas Batu – Malang, berbagai macam kripik di Toko Macan. Setelah itu, barulah kami beristirahat di hotel sebelum bersiap-siap pergi ke Bromo pd pukul 01.30 dini hari.



Pak Chandra dari Lisa Travel sudah siap pada pukul 01.00 dan menunggu kami yg bersiap-siap. Pas jam 01.30, kami meninggalkan Hotel Santoso dan took 3 hours to be there (Pananjakan). Sesampainya, we had early breakfast at warong Indomie. Full tank then we walked and melted with bunch of peoples from different nations. Staying around 3 hours at Pananjakan then continued to Lautan Pasir. Parked our car, grab 6 horses with IDR 30,000 (pulang pergi). Supposed to be IDR 60,000 :P Thanks ya, Mas! Naik tangga ke kawah dan yg rajin berhitung adalah mertua gw. Dan inilah pernyataannya “Kok, mama itung pas naik dr sebelah kanan 217. Klo turun dr sebelah kiri, 245 ... ” Hehehehe ....

Sekitar pukul 09.30, kami sudah bersiap menuju ke Kota Malang dan akan lunch di Toko Oen yg terkenal itu. Makan steak lidah sapi! Yummy .... Full tank and gotta go back to Santoso. Get some rest …

Preparation to go back to Jakarta, spent half day playing at Selecta Swimming Pool, special lunch and headed to Juanda International Airport.

Sangkuriang

In the time when West Java was still thickly covered with woods and undergrowth and wonders existed, there reigned a king, named Raden Sungging Pebangkara. He was a good ruler and to convince himself of the welfare of his subjects, he used to visit them. But the thing he liked most was hunting in the forest.

It happened that in one of the forests the king often visited there lived a she-pig, actually a cursed goddess. One day, as it was very warm, she came out of her hiding place looking for water. There she saw a coconut-shell, filled with water. Glad to have found something and expecting it to be coconut-milk, she drank it at a draught, having no suspicions whatsoever that it was the King’s urine left there the day before when hunting. The consequence was very strange. She became pregnant. In a few months she gave birth to a very pretty girl. When the king was once again hunting in the forest, he saw the girl and, attracted by her beauty, he took her to his palace, called her Dayang Sumbi and treated her as his own daughter.

Time passed and Dayang Sumbi grew up into a fine young girl. She was fond of weaving and thus passed her time. One bright morning, as she was absorbed in weaving, her weaving-spool suddenly got loose. Before she could prevent it, it flew out of the window to the field below. It was out of her reach, as her room was about three stories high. Furthermore she was very tired and had no wish to descend the stairs to fetch the spool. Quite at ease, she mumbled: “Whoever is willing to help me pick up the spool, I’ll treat as my sister, if she is a girl. If he is a man, I’ll take him as my husband.” These words were overheard by a dog, called Tumang, who happened to come along. He immediately picked up the spool and brought it to Dayang Sumbi. Tumang was in fact a cursed god too, like the she-pig. Seeing the dog with the spool in his mouth, Dayang Sumbi fainted. The gods had decided her for her to undergo the same fate as her mother, the she-pig. She too become pregnant and a short time afterwards she gave birth to a strong healthy son, whom she called Sangkuriang.

Sangkuriang became a handsome young man, as time went by. Like his grandfather, he was fond of hunting in the forest and Tumang was his faithful friend when roaming the woods. He loved this creature very much; having no idea at all that it was his own father. One day while hunting, they came across a fat pig. Sangkuriang strung his bow and z-z-z-z-z-z-z! the arrow hissed towards the she-pig, and hit but did not kill her. Wounded, she vanished into the undergrowth.

“Come on, Tumang, run after her!” Sangkuriang shouted, eager to taste the pork. Tumang, however, did not move. Whatever Sangkuriang said to urge Tumang to pursue the pig, it left him unmoved. Sangkuriang lost his self control. In his anger he killed Tumang, cut up his flesh and took it home to his mother. She prepared a tasty dish of it and after the meal she asked:

“Sangkuriang, what kind of flesh is this? It is delicious!”

“This is Tumang’s, mother,” Sangkuriang responded. “I killed him, as he did not obey my command to pursue a fat pig.” For one moment Dayang Sumbi was speechless. Then in rage she took a spool and flung it at him. It struck his forehead and blood dropped out of the wound. This left later on a scar on the spot. Then Dayang Sumbi sent him away.

Deeply grieved, Sangkuriang left and wandered through the woods. He walked for years. Finally he returned to his native place, but did not recognize it any longer. There he stood, looking around him, all alone, musing about the past. At the end of a vast rice-field, which stretched in front of him, he noticed a house on stilts. Looking closely, he saw a young girl sitting at her weaving-loom. He approached her and, charmed by her beauty, he immediately proposed to her, unaware that she was his own mother. The girl looked at him and, noticing his good looks, she promised to marry him. For some time they loved each other tenderly, making plans for their wedding day, but one day she discovered the scar on his forehead.

“That wound!” she whispered, and at the moment she realized that he was no other than her own son who had come back to his village. After being left by Sangkuriang, Dayang Sumbi had been given eternal beauty by the gods, which was why she looked so young and Sangkuriang did not recognize her as his mother. She made efforts to make him understand that a marriage between them was impossible and withdrew her promise to marry him. But Sangkuriang refused to accept the truth and was determined to get his own way. Dayang Sumbi was very sad, as she was ashamed to reveal her secret.

“What is to be done?” she pondered. She had an idea and said to him: “All right then, you shall marry me only on condition that you fulfill a wish of mine. Dam up the Citarum River and build a big vessel, which we shall use after being married. But you have only one night to complete the work.” Sangkuriang agreed and started to work. Only at daybreak did he approach the end, in spite of his magic powers and his prayers to the gods for help. Noticing this, Dayang Sumbi got alarmed and hit upon another plan to prevent the marriage. She stretched the red woven veil which covered her head over the eastern side of the plain. Through her magic powers, red light spread over the landscape, giving the impression that the sun was rising, which meant that time was up for Sangkuriang. He was astonished.

“In vain!” he shouted in despair and at the same time, filled with rage; he kicked the vessel, which was almost finished, upside-down. Then he made for the south, for the Indian Ocean. He had not gone very far when the water of the lake rose and overflowed its banks, dragging everything in its way. Sangkuriang himself had no chance of escape and with all his workers he was driven away. Sometime later the lake dried up. The mountain of Tangkuban Prahu on the northern side of Bandung is thought to be the overturned vessel of Sangkuriang. In time it became covered with trees and the lake became the present fertile rice-fields around Bandung area, every year yielding great benefits for all the people.

Source: "Folk Tales from Indonesia" by Aman, S.D.B.

Telaga Warna

Long long ago there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a king. People called their king His Majesty Prabu. Prabu was a kind and wise king. No wonder if that country was prosperous. There's no hunger in this kingdom.

It was a very happy condition. But it was a pity that Prabu and his queen hadn't got any children. It made the royal couple very very sad. Some old men and women who was respected by Prabu suggested the king to adopt a child. But Prabu and the queen didn't agree. "No, thank you. But for us, our own daughter or son is better than adopted children."

The queen was very sad. She often cried. That was why Prabu decided to go. He went to the jungle. There he prayed to God. Everyday he begged for a child. His dream come true. A few months later, the queen got fregnant. All people in the kingdom felt happy. They sent many presents to the palace to express their happiness.

Nine months later a princess was born. People sent their presents again as a gift to a little princess. This baby grew as a beautiful teenager then.

Prabu and Queen loved their daughter so much. They gave what ever she wanted. It made Princess a very spoiled girl. When her wish couldn't be realized, she became very angry. She even said bad things often. A true princess wouldn't do that. Eventhough the princess behaved badly, her parents loved her, so did the people in that kingdom.

Day by day, the princess grew more beautiful. No girls couldn't compare with her. In a few days, Princess would be 17 years old. So, people of that kingdom went to palace. They brought many presents for her. Their presents gift were very beautiful. Prabu collected the presents. There were really many presents. Then Prabu stored them in a building. Some times he could take them to give to his people.

Prabu only took some gold and jewels. Then she brought them to the goldsmith. "Please make a beautiful necklace for my daughter," said Prabu. "My pleasure, Your Majesty," the goldsmith replied. The goldsmith worked with all his heart and his ability. He wanted to create the most beautiful necklace in the world because he loved his princess.

The birthday came. People gathered in the palace field. When Prabu and queen appeared, people welcomed them happily. Prabu and his wife waved to their beloved people.

Cheers were louder and louder when the princess appeared with her fabulous pretty face. Everybody admired her beauty. Prabu got up from his chair. A lady gave him a small and glamourous pillow. A wonderful necklace was on it. Prabu took that necklace. "My beloved daughter, today I give this necklace to you. This necklace is a gift from people in this country. They love you so much. They presented it for you to express their happiness, because you have growing to a woman. Please, wear this necklace," said Prabu.

Princess accepted the necklace. She looked at the necklace in a glance. "I don't want to accepted it! It's ugly!" shouted the princess. Then she threw the necklace. The beautiful necklace was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the floor

Everybody couldn't say anything. They never thought that their beloved princess would did that cruel thing. Nobody spoke. In their silence people heard the queen crying. Every woman felt sad and began crying too. Then everybody was crying.

Then there was a miracle. Earth was crying. Suddenly, from the under ground, a spring emerged. It made a pool of water. The palce was getting full. Soon the place became a big lake. The lake sank all of the kingdom.

Nowadays the water on that lake is not as full as before. There is only a small lake now. People called the lake "Talaga Warna". It is mean "Lake of Colour". It's located in Puncak, West Java. On a bright day, the lake is full of colour. So beautiful and amazing. These colors come from shadows of forest, plants, flowers, and sky arround the lake. But some people said that the colours are from the princess's necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/kesumawijaya/

Timun Mas

Long long time ago, there was a farmer couple. They were staying in a village near a forest. They lived happily. Unfortunately, they hadn’t had any children yet.

Every day they prayed to God for a child. One day a giant passed their home. He heard what they were praying. Then the giant gave them a cucumber seed.

"Plant this seed, then you’ll get a daughter,” said the giant. “Thank you, Giant,” said the couple. “But in one condition, in her 17-th birthday, you must give her to me,” said the Giant. The couple wanted a child so much that they agreed without thinking first.

Then the couple planted the cucumber seed. Each day they took care the growing plant so carefully. Months later, a golden cucumber grew from the plant. The cucumber was getting heavier and bigger each day. When it was ripe, they picked it. Carefully they cut out the cucumber and how surprised were they when they found a beautiful baby inside. They were so happy. They named the baby Timun Mas, or Golden Cucumber.

Years were passing by and Timun Mas had grown into a beautiful girl. Her parents were very proud of her. But their happiness turned to fear when her 17th birthday came. The giant returned to ask for their promise. He was going to take Timun Mas away.

The farmer tried to be calm. “Just a moment, please. Timun Mas is playing. My wife will call her,” he said. Then the farmer came to his daughter. “My child, take this,” as he was giving her a little bag to Timun Mas. “This will help you from the giant. Now, run as fast as you can,” he ordered. So Timun Mas ran away.

The couple was very sad about her leaving. But they didn’t want the giant to eat Timun Mas. Meanwhile, the giant had been waiting for too long. He became impatient. Somehow he knew that the couple had lied to him. So he destroyed their house and ran for Timun Mas.

The giant was chasing Timun Mas and he was getting closer and closer. Timun Mas then took a handful of salt from her little bag. She spread out the salt behind her. Suddenly a wide sea appeared between them. The giant had to swim to reach her

Timun Mas was still running, but now the giant almost caught her. Then she took some chilly and threw them to the giant. The chilly suddenly grew into some trees and trapped the giant. The trees grew some thorns as sharp as a knife. The giant screamed painfully. At the mean time, Timun Mas could escape again.

But the giant was very strong. Again he almost caught Timun Mas. So Timun Mas took the third magic stuff, the cucumber seeds. She threw the seeds and suddenly they became a wide cucumber field. The giant was very tired and hungry so he ate those fresh cucumbers. He ate too much that he felt sleepy and fell asleep soon.

Timun Mas kept on running as fast as she could. But soon she was very tired herself. To make things worse, the giant had woken up! Timun Mas was so scared. Desperately she then threw her last weapon, terasi (a kind of shrimp pasta). IT did a miracle again. The pasta became a big swamp. The giant fell into it but his hands almost reached Timun Mas. Suddenly the lake pulled him to the bottom. The giant panicked and he couldn’t breathe. At last he was drown.

Timun Mas was very relieved. She was safe now. Then she returned to her parents’ house. Her parents were of course very happy to see their daughter safe and sound. “Thanks God. You have saved my daughter,” they cried happily. From then on, Timun Mas lived happily with her parents with no fear anymore.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/kesumawijaya/

Adora Svitak - The Youngest Teacher in the World

Is Adora Svitak the cleverest child in the world?

An 11-year-old American girl is in big demand on the world lecture and classroom circuit. Kate Corr discovers what makes 'Dora the Explorer' tick.

Adora Svitak is off to primary school with her mother. Today's lesson is about poetry and she's really looking forward to it. But 11-year-old Adora isn't a pupil… she's the teacher.

Described as "a tiny literary giant", there is, it seems, no end to Adora's talents. She started teaching at seven and in the same year had her first book Flying Fingers (a collection of short stories which contains tips and hints for other aspiring writers) published internationally. Her second, Dancing Fingers (a collection of poetry written with her older sister), was published last year and she's currently working on another four. Historical fiction and fantasy are her favourite genres, although she prefers J K Rowling to Charles Dickens, whose sentences are, she tells me, "a little convoluted" for her liking.

Adora is quick; she types between 80 to 112 words per minute, reads two to three books per day, and writes around 330,000 words per year. She sees herself as an "educator, poet and humanitarian," but to the rest of the world she is simply a child with an adult brain – and a gruelling daily schedule which often doesn't end until 11pm.

Adora has never taken an IQ test. They are "not necessarily the best way to determine one's literary intelligence," she explains in the carefully considered manner of a benign professor. "But I was thrilled to be able to read at three. I just thought everyone loved reading as much as I did."

On discovering otherwise, Adora quickly set about spreading the joy of literature to others at her own request and becoming, according to her mother Joyce, the youngest teacher in the world. She has travelled, all expenses paid, to more than 300 schools and classrooms worldwide including China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and once to a primary school in the UK, gaining the nickname "Dora the Explorer" for the way she opens up the experiences of reading and writing to children.

Her family has now converted the basement of their home in Redmond, Washington DC, into a TV studio from which Adora gives daily video conferences to children, adults and teachers, earning $300 per 50-minute lesson. She's in big demand in the corporate world, too, where she can command up to $10,000 for an appearance speaking to educators and business people about the impact technology can have on the creative process and has recently been hired by Microsoft to do demonstrations about educational computing.

Watching her teach, it's impossible not to be impressed by Adora's slick performance. She's full of praise for her pupils, whatever their age or ability. "When I was a kid, I needed encouragement," she says. Has she forgotten that she's still only 11? Apparently not. "When I talk about childhood in the past tense I'm usually describing myself between the ages of two to nine," she adds, to clear up any confusion. "I realise I'm still a child, though I do feel older. I recently did an on-line test called 'What's Your True Age?' My result was 50-60 years old. My family joke that I'm really a very senior person who accidentally happens to be 11."

Her family may be right, although they are surely in part responsible for Adora's outlook on life. They're all very bright, of course. Father John has a PhD in physics and is a software engineer, while their eldest daughter, Adrianna, 13, is a gifted musician. Joyce was raised in China during the Cultural Revolution and was prevented from having books. Determined her children should not be stifled academically, she decided to home-school.

"My childhood experiences do influence the way I raise my kids," she admits. "I tell them stories about my childhood, the deprivation of books, not having enough food, but I don't take credit for how Adora has turned out. There are many brilliant kids born every day. What makes Adora exceptional is largely due to her own hard work and dedication. Besides, knowing how to write is one thing, but to teach how to write is another game."

Is she a pushy parent? Joyce insists it's the other way around. "It's not me who's doing the pushing," she says. "Adora is self-motivated. She would work till 11 or 12pm for the next day's presentation. I'm the one who asks her to take a break."

Joyce also denies that her daughter is driven by a desire to gain approval from her parents. "Adora knows she doesn't have to work to please me," she says firmly. "She's just a very wise, lovely child."

Nevertheless, Adora's timetable would cause even the most work-obsessed to break into a cold sweat. Apart from meal breaks and a power nap at 2pm, Adora works all day and most of the evening, too, although being Adora, she doesn't consider this a bad thing. "It's all really fun for me," she says simply. "And I love to watch the news. I watch three different channels of evening news (ABC, NBC, and CBS), as well as special programmes at weekends."

While acknowledging that her daughter's childhood isn't normal, Joyce is sure she's happy. "When I see her jumping up and down with joy when her textbooks arrive, dancing across the room when I buy her favourite yoghurt or shouting with excitement when she sees some news on TV that I would enjoy, I know she's living a happy childhood."

Adora is keen to point out that she has many friends and has never been bullied. "I believe that's largely because I've been able to share my talent and skill with other people," she says. "I'm not scary."

To prove it, she lists all the activities she does for fun, including roller skating, ice-skating, cooking and eating cheese. "I also enjoy hide and seek, tag and truth or dare," she adds.

For a moment, she begins to sound like an all-American kid, although how she manages to fit all this "fun" into her schedule is perplexing.

So does Adora worry about anything? "The world economy I suppose," she says. "Also global warming, cholera in Zimbabwe, the decline of the quality of US education and world hunger." (She keeps an on-line blog in which she comments on events of "international significance".)

"But mostly, I avoid worrying since the time spent doing it could be spent more constructively."

Indeed. Could this deep-thinking 11-year-old be one of the world's cleverest children? Broadcaster Mark Dolan certainly thinks so. He chose her as one of only three children to feature in his forthcoming Channel 4 documentary The World's Cleverest Child & Me. "Adora is certainly in the elite as far as writing and language skills go and may well be the youngest teacher in the world," says Dolan. "She's also a genuinely charming girl who makes J K Rowling look like a bit of a slouch in the writing department. But it's difficult to gauge how responsible she really is for her huge workload.

"She certainly isn't harassed into it and shares her mother's vision and ambitions for her, but she's got all these opportunities mostly because of her age. What will happen when she loses the cachet of being a child genius?"

Professor Joan Freeman, a distinguished psychologist and author of How to Raise A Bright Child (Vermillion £9.99), has been studying gifted children for 34 years and believes Adora may have a tricky few years ahead. "There's a big difference between a gifted child and a gifted adult," she says. "All a child has to do is be advanced for their age. An adult has to push the frontiers of knowledge.

"Currently, Adora loves what she does and gets glory and praise. Problems may arise when she hits adolescence. You can't work as hard as she does whilst also giggling with girlfriends, hanging out with boys, stomping around and slamming doors. Life could get very difficult."

• To read more about Adora and her work, visit www.adorasvitak.com

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

By Kate Corr
Published: 6:27PM GMT 14 Jan 2009