this bad??

Corruption is universal, malignant, and destructive, and the joke retold by Keith B. Richburg in his Out of America: a Black Man Confronts Africa says it all. A western-educated African visits an old university friend in Indonesia and is impressed by his spectacular house, his three Mercedes, his huge swimming pool and numerous servants. How on earth, he asks, can his Asian friend afford all that? The Indonesian points to a grand elevated highway in the distance, and patting himself on the chest says “ten percent”.

A few years later the Indonesian visits the African at his home and is staggered to see a whole fleet of Mercedes, air-conditioned indoor tennis courts, and an army of uniformed chauffeurs and servants. How on earth can his friend afford it all? “You see that highway?” says the African—but when the Indonesian looks he sees nothing at all, just empty fields right out to the horizon. His host looks at him with a smile, taps himself on the chest, and says “One hundred percent!”

emphasize your senses

4 mondays in Sept, none spent working in the office. bliss..

here i am sitting in the desk of what might be my next office. sensing what the kind of work, the types of personalities, the atmosphere, everything. if last week i was so positive about taking this job, now i'm having second thought.

yup, that's me.. ms. indecisive... :)
well, it's fair that i get this priceless opportunity so i'm using it as much as possible. testing water, checking the wave, whatever..

Only a few know about my plan on moving.. let's see, other than you who ever so kindly squander spare time reading my blog, only fam & close friends know. But you know how the gossip mechanism works.. before you know it the whole world already know.. & moping they ask why I didn’t tell them. I mean.. as eeeeff…..!!

It’s rather amusing watching their reactions.. Parents didn't try to talk me out of it (thanks folks!!), my sibblings are cool with it (didn't surprise me when they actually discuss what to become of my room.. yep, in front of me, when I haven’t even start packing.. hahh!!), they figure they will have free accommodation when vacationing there. Some friends are excited, some were flusterred.. Maybe they think I’m this big city gal who can't live without plazas and cafes and the rest of big cities brouhahaaaass. Well, that hasn’t been tested completely so I can't really counter it with solid proof.. aasssss if!!

What things most probable I would miss in Jakarta??
* traffic, pollution, noise?
definitely can live without
* plazas
well there are some in Bali, which is ok, coz I definitely oppose the notion that progress = more highrise buildings (read: shopping malls, trade centers & their kins). Besides bali isn’t a remote island, so the facilities considerably exist. That range from cafes, clubs, to banks, hospitals, etc.
* people
This, unquestionably will be a future problem, which I don’t wanna waste time thinking about now. ;)

+ going the baaahh-lee way +

OK, I admit I've been avoiding this subject. It's not because the negotiation stop or cancelled, just some personal reasons. So, negotiation is closed. Resulting that.......... yes, u guessed it, I'm moving to Bali!!

Find it a bit strange seeing how things are moving that way without I expect it. Work wise they agreed to adjust the two points I asked, so no more excuses for me turning down their offer. Once I confirm my acceptance there’s no turning back. In addition to that a couple of friends asked if I wanna go to bali in the near future. The scheduling will be slightly different, yet not conflicting and coincidently (?) I already make plans to be there (if my leave request get approved).

Isn't this exciting??!!

Uhhmm.... I honestly don’t know how to answer that. There's a mixed feelings.
Exciting to move and play adult living by my own and the rest of it, but anticipating all the moving I've to do it doesn’t look that exciting anymore. Maybe I'm just too lazy hehee..

Then the endless "what ifs"......
What if I don't like the work, the people, the boss?
What if I feel alone and homesick?
What if I don't like where I live?
What if it's too late for me to realize that vacationing in bali is different with living there?
What if . . . . .
[the questions go on & on & on]

Whoa!! Having those thoughts rolling around my head day and night (literally!) is much easier than writing them down and seeing that I worry too much! Yeah, that’s one reason why I've been delaying in writing this. Usually after the worrying and anxiety passed I will feel much better and can start listing down the more important issues, that is what to be prepared. One step at a time, now I need to finish work in current office, which according to our annual schedule will have audit very soon.

golput... golput

Election day, 2nd round. Voted & felt proud to be a good citizen. Syeah right!!
I bet the counting will take at least a dragging two weeks. Let's just get over this, announce the new El Prez and carry on with life.

The trouble with this long lasting cheap ink. Hope they can find a better way in 'marking' voters, something more sophisticated and doesn’t dirty the fingers/hands.

Prattle noise could be heard from a distance, tho one cdn't really tell whether it was chatting or arguing noise. There were 3 youngsters around 20m away from me. As I drove closer I could hear the guy’s raised and to my shock all of a sudden he hit the back of a parking car. Then the gal pulled out a kleenex and started to sob, the other gal didn’t do anything, just stared at me as I murmured 'self control'. From the way he tried to hold his voice it's obvious that the guy (boy?) had lost his temper.

Talk about violence..

Ok, he didn't hit her, but the tendency is there. It's not impossible on their next fight the boy would get so pissed off he just direct his punch to the gal. If I were her, I'd just separate from him before things got worse and out of control. Regardless of who started the whole thing, physical abuse will only cause more poblem and pain.

I'm a scared chicken? Maybe, but how to talk reason with someone who thinks he's more superior just because he has more muscle mass? Just watching a fragment fight gave me cold chill, something left from ancient time... 'nuff said.

undo / fix

making mistakes is sometimes inevitable, i know it's exhausting to be aware all the time & to control yr feelings, thingking and words. been there done that.

never intended this blog to be my pouring bucket, so i've no intention to start it now. so no incident will be written, no names name.

just been wondering the price one has to pay to fix that mistake. today, it was a nicer attitude and some cookies.. syeah, like i need more extra calories.

i don't mean to be mean (no pun intended) but things would be more simpler if one can control their actions & if they fail, just apologize. definitely will appreciate that more than pretending an oatmeal cookie will fix it.

does it ever occured to you why those jamu vendors (tukang jamu) keep kebaya as their working attire? if yes, do me a favor and asking them, ok..

my sis did & she was just too shy to ask the lady. i encouraged (challenged more likely) her, but she challenged me back.

'no sweat', i thought & approached the lady.

"mba, would u mind if i ask you something?"

"no, what is it?"

"well, my sis here (ha! gotcha!!) is just curious as why u keep work wearing a kebaya, which seem to limit your movement, especially u have to carry such burden? why not wear slacks and t-shirt which will be more comfortable?"

"hehe.. i wish i could, but kebaya is just a tradition."

we've always knew the answer, but sure is obvious who the shy and rigid between us. it's just amusing taking a step back and watching the process. hey, i was just helping if in the process i sorta humiliate her it's just a tactic. as long as the job gets done ;)

(not so blind faith)

How to describe the progress on bali offer? One word: dead-end.

Two weeks passed without any news, which is ok for me coz it gave me extra time to rethink the offer. Have been mulling over two major questions:
+ Is this part of God's plan in my life?
+ Do I really want it?

Tough to answer the 1st question. Some time ago I got stuck in another crossroads of life path but none happened, so I sorta stop asking "what is God’s plan?" & decided to just go where the wind blows. Did it make me lose my faith? No way, I’m a believer, I just think I need to 're-evaluate' the manifestation..

If they've called me immediately after the interview I would accept it with glee & I'd be packing by now. I admit I was excited with the possibility of moving somewhere else from Jakarta, just by myself. Free from parents some might think? Huh! Why would I wanna be free from my parents? I mean it's not like my life's bound to obey whatever my parents tell me to do. Not when one reaches my age, fercryingoutloud. They're quite moderate. They question my decision, & I just need to stand for it & give the best explanation. Being great parents they are, they’d give their blessings. After all, it's my life I'm living.

The rethinking period fortunately gave me lotsa time to reconsider things all over & the excitement depleted. I get to see the trouble, extra work from moving to another island, etc. I've made some rough calculation and list of what required and what might come up. Yeah, the logical me killed all the adventure thrill.

So I was more prepared when they called to negotiate. But we didn’t meet sound agreement during the talks. Perhaps I should talk directly to the prospective employer & not to the HRD person that seem too bureaucratic & not very persuasive? We were working on 2 key points: 1 was on starting date. They want me to join immediately, but I need time to terminate my current contract & to pack things up. Another point is number (yep, what else?). They gave me a revised offer, which is 30% higher than the initial offer. Not bad, even would be irresistable, if I the job's in Jakarta. Sounds greedy? Call it whatever you want, but I call it being realistic. Don’t forget I’ve to arrange my own relocation, housing etc.

C'mon, they CAN do better than that…! (^_^)

It does feel good when you're in a winning position & have nothing to lose. You could feel more at peace and assured that if it’s yours, it's yours. Money is not everything, that's a litany in my life, but when u’re faced with an opportunity like this, and later it turned out to be a bad decision, at least you're miserably loaded with monies in your bank account.

Kidding.

Fleeeaazzzz

How to get rid of fleas? Completely???
The 2 puppies kept exchanging fleas. Have I told you that another puppy checked in a week ago? It's a black puppy, smaller than the first one, but smarter.

So anyway, every time I bathe them (which is an additional chore in my weekend) I still have to nitpick those yucky fleas. I did exactly what the flea powder direction told me to, pour the powder, wait for 15 mins, then bath the pet. It has to end soon, before those fleas start creeping on human bodies.

Drop me a line if you have useful tips ok.. Thx!

Oz Embassy bombing

What more can I say about this? You must have seen/read all the news about it. What kind of wreck it did to the people & buildings in the Kuningan business district, when it happened, who the victims were, who (or which group) got pointed out as the the person(s) responsible for the tragedy, so on & so forth.

One thing I can't figure out from these (Indonesian) bloody terrorists is their agenda. Maybe it's part of their fun game, let the authorities (cops, analysts, etc) figure out what they want. Did they try to scare away all the bules? Hell, they successfully generate paranoia to both bules & locals. Was it part of election frenzy, discrediting one of the El Prez candidates? Was it because bombing season has arrived? Wouldn't it be easier for them (& the rest of the country?) if afterward they sabotage a TV station (perhaps ANTV which is located near their target) & have them roll a recorded video where some men wearing black masks state their demands. Clueless.

Oops, did I just give them an idea? Definitely not!! Don't think some terrorrist would have spare time reading my silly blog. But if there is, while they're reading it, I'd just make it known that I wouldn't wanna be standing next to any of them when facing God's wrath when everything comes to an end.

Had a chance talk to several 'victims'. One is an old man whose office is in Plaza 89. Coincidently he had a meeting with my bozz on that fateful afternoon. As soon as I heard the news I called him & his secretary but no luck. Few hours later he called & he was shaken to the bones. Poor old man. That same afternoon he took off to his home town in Papua. Another close friend couldn't get reached either & before I left for the day she called & told me what happened to her & her colleagues (the office was in Menara Gracia, next to the embassy). She almost cried, so tried to calm her down. Managed to visit her on the weekend, she seemed calmer, but still worried to go out. Traumatic.

pop culture

Few days passed, so many things happened, so many issues roll around, so many thoughts need to be written down, but most of them are just too boring to waste some bites here.. Check out the latest pop culture..

** Indo Idol
A friend’s reaction was "who cares?"
Yeah, if it doesn't get non-stop blow up in a nation wide TV station nobody would notice it. It’s fun to follow the process from the start (I didn't watch every episode, mind you, nor the extra shows every afternoon). We could see how such show could change people, both to the good and bad. The most obvious is their physical appearance. Did you see the last interview Joy did when she was recording songs? Gosh, she sure gotta do something with her face. The nasty things make-up could do to your face.. Perhaps have her skin insured?

If u must know, I didn't vote.. It's just ridiculous people actually spent hundreds of thousands to get their champ won. If you know the person, fine, but if you don't? Will Joy or Delon or the rest of the group would thank you? I don't think so..

** PON (National Sport Week) in Palembang
Hardly noticed it, but found it ironic that the olimpic gold medal holder Taufik lost. Hey why not use sms to where the audiences are allowed to choose who's the best in each game? "Indonesia memilih..."
Silly.

over-excited bomber(s)

World - Reuters
Explosion Heard, Felt in Central Jakarta
11 minutes ago (10.30 am)

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A loud explosion rocked central Jakarta on Thursday, sending white smoke into the air, witnesses said.

Radio reports quoted witnesses as saying the explosion was near the Australian embassy and damaged the facility, with some victims being brought to ambulances from the embassy complex.

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, has been hit by sporadic bomb attacks in recent years, including blast in Bali in October 2002 that killed 202 people and at a luxury Jakarta hotel in August 2003 that killed 12.


& we thought things have cooled down.. *sigh*

row row row your boat...

Check out this ad: opportunity to join an expedition to nine countries.. FREE!

It’s called Majapahit Ship Expedition. The expedition will be launched on Dec 18, 04 and they will need young people to be ship crew and ‘ambassadors’. Interesting indeed.

The general requirements: age range 18-30, healthy, good knowledge of Indonesian culture (required to submit an essay), ready to join the expedition for five months.

Five months, eh? Then what? Don’t start that, think of all the unexpected experiences, the travel, the learning new stuff, the life in a ship for five months (which will be exiting, unless you have seasick), the chance to observe exotic countries.. Hey, perhaps I should apply myself??

Interested? For more details just contact: majapahit_ship@yahoo.com

Life is what happen while we’re busy making plans..

I like that quote coz it’s true. Was so busy planning things around I sometimes forgot to live. Yes I live day to day, go to the office, run errands, do this and that, just being busy body. Not enough, I add up more ‘problem’ with trying to see what things look like a few years ahead, anticipating this and that, considering new job offer, weighing the possibility of career change, etc etc. Lethargic.

Most of us have long term plans, short term, etc., also plans that aren’t really plans coz they were merely small intentions and seem unimportant we often forget about it. But when I reminded of it several time, I know it’s important and just need to take action. Procrastinating is just more easier to do.

Been wanting to talk to one of the church elders for months. Not sure what made me want to do that. You may call me cocky, coz most of the time I’ve been able to think things through, and I have people around me who will help me out.

So in church today I was reminded again of that simple intention. Not wanting to put it off I just did it. Talked with a gentleman I didn’t even catch the name and he prayed for me.

Hard to describe why I needed it, but when he finished his simple prayer I felt comforted, and more at peace. I’m not sure which helped more, the prayer or the kind and sincere gesture. Perhaps talking to a complete stranger helped also. I know things would’ve been different if I talk to someone I know. There will be expectations, the response I get will be all too familiar and frequently will lead to an argument instead of good discussion. Well, he didn’t solve my problem, we didn’t even have time to discuss it, yet I felt assured that things will be just fine. For that, I’m most obliged.

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing Hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I could only imagine..
(Bart Millard – Imagine)

the battle continues.. LOL

For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milkfor free", here's an update for you.

Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage, why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get a little sausage...

*snoooozzee..*

WHOAAA...!! i overslept this morning

guess my alarm ran outta battery & didn't bug me at my usual time. it's not very late anyway, only 30 minutes of extra sleep. bliss.. :) this only means 30 mins less to do my routine morning rituals.. you know all those hair curling, legs shaving, nails polishing and make up applying... hehehheeee NOT!

i must be really tired coz usually it doesn't take much to wake me up. besides my body clock's so predicted often times i wake up before the alarm went off.

on the other extreme is my bro.. when he sleeps, he just sleeps. come hell & high water, nothing will bother him until he decides to wake up. it's just funny (pathetic also?) watching the efforts of waking him up. he'd ask like everybody in the house to wake him up at a certain time. he also leaves a note on the white board "wake me up at 6.30. pliiiiisssssss". one of us wd later scribbled "wake up, it's 6.30!!!" LOL. then he'll set his cellphone, but when it goes off nuthing happen. one of us will just ignore it, but when it gets annoying we'll bang on his door or simply get in his room, shake him or sprinkle some water.. anything to wake him up. :))

it's an adventure waking up a lazy bones :))