Lessons for the day

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel."

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies.

"Great," the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:

A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.

The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.

The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak."

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Puff! She's gone.

"Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Puff! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story:

Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.

A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree" sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree.

The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there..

Lesson 6:

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was.

The dung was actually thawing him out!

He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:

(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.

(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.

(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

(Credit for Retno)

Feast Of Love: Love in many facets

Tagline: A story for anyone with an appetite for love

Now, this is about love, again....I recently watched this movie. When I saw the dvd cover, I was thinking that it could be another version of "Love Actually" and it is right to some extent. But contentwise, this movie is much on the darker and heavy side (well, dark movie for christmast? big NO NO I guess - referring to Love Actually).

This is a story about a close community in Oregon, centered to a local professor: Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) which then be around and analysing and involved in the neighbouring love matters. There are several sections of the story, which all of them are intertwined:

1. Harry Stevenson and wife, Esther lost their son Aaron due to overdose. He still thinks that he was not good enough as a father to his son.

2. Bradley Smith's stories involved 3 women. His wife, Kathryn left him for some other woman. The struggling, surprise and then acceptance of Kathryn that she actually is a homosexual was completely missed by her wife, just adding up to her decision to leave her husband. For her, it was a long thorough process and thinking.. but to her husband. He even didn't realized until the room was empty and she's completely gone. Second woman was a real-estate agent that he feel in love and hurriedly asked in marriage. Turns out that Diana, the woman just used him to make her lover jealous. At the end, her lover divorced his wife and they just together again. Led by desperation and pain, radley then foolishly tried to cut himself. Then, when the doctor banded his wound and asked him why he did that to himself, he replied: "There's so much pain in my heart and I want my body feel the pain I got in my heart". Then, he fell in love again with the doctor.

3.Young Romeo and his Juliet, Oscar and Chloe.. they felt in love instantly at first sight, have big dreams and have to face the problems, bad-ass father, money problem, fortuneteller, and death. Yet, they never be apart.

Below I took the comment IMDB user filled about this movie.

"I was down from Maine last week and was lucky enough to attend a screening of Feast of Love in New York City. I can't stop thinking about this film. It raises so many questions. What makes us fall in love with someone? If you love a person enough can you make them fall in love with you? With all the people who cross your path why do you fall in love with one but not the others? What is it that makes you fall in love with someone at first sight? How could you be married to someone and not have any idea that that person no longer loves you back? In the end the film gives hope to all of us who have loved and lost that we can find love again, and that that love can come in many different forms and configurations. The movie made me laugh and made me cry. The acting was wonderful and I felt the characters heartbreak as well as their blind optimism. The nude scenes, although explicit, were a natural as part of the relationships of the characters. If you're looking for a film to make you laugh, make you cry and make you think then this would be a good film for you. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. "

I have a slightly different comment regading the structure of the movie, since there are a lot of things uncleared: such as: what about Oscar drugs problem? What is the story for Kathryn after she left with Janie?.

But really this movie can fully describe the purpose, to show the viewer, what love can be, can form, can happen, can choose and can't choose, can't be explained, can mislead, can hurt...

Some excerpts of the dialog:

Harry Stevenson: "There is a story about the Greek Gods; they were bored so they invented human beings, but they were still bored so they invented love, then they weren't bored any longer. So they decided to try love for themselves. And finally, they invented laughter, so they could stand it."

BRADLEY: "Chloe knew what was going to happen to Oscar. She did. She went to some weird psychic lady who predicted it."

HARRY: "She believed her?"

BRADLEY: "Oh, yeah."

Harry’s face turns solemn as he pieces something together.

BRADLEY (cont’d): "But she didn’t run away. Or crawl into a hole. No, she found them a house. Threw away her birth control. Married him."

(beat)

BRADLEY: "God doesn’t hate us, Harry. If he did, he wouldn’t have made our hearts so brave"

Bradley Thomas: "Do you think love is a trick or do you think it's the only reason there is to this crazy dream?"

Jenny: "Which do you believe?"

Bradley Thomas: "The second one. "

Harry Stevenson: "Sometimes you don't know you've crossed a line until you're already on the other side."

There's even a dedicated website for the fans of this movie and book (well, apparently there's a book to look for)

http://fan.tainted-ink.net/list/feastoflove/

Talking about LOVE: it is one of the most explained unexplained thing I guessed:). the result of yahoo search engine after i type the word "love" is 7,820,000,000 result in 0.16sec, not to forget that this is only the same word in english language only.

What I believe right now about love is: Love will depends on how we see it, so, in a way, it's true that there are many facets of love. Yes, it can hurt and kill or cure at the other side. Yes it is a win-or-loose or it is a take-and-give. Yes, it can be very deceptive and sincere at the same time. Yes, it is a very private thing and yet very shared. Yes, it is precisely unique and universal. Yes, it is black-and-white, and colored and also has no color at all. Yes, it is as light as the feather and heavy as rock. Yest, it can be very accurate and random. Yes, it is bitter and sweet and sour. Yes, it can be very forgiven and very unforgiven or somewhere in between.

Looked like today's my day is all about love, then I listened to a song by Andy Williams: Both Sides Now

The lyrics is so beautifully decsribing the different forms of love:

Both Sides Now

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air

And feather canyons everywhere, i've looked at cloud that way.

But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.

So many things i would have done but clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,

From up and down, and still somehowIt's cloud illusions i recall.

I really don't know clouds at all.

Moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel

As every fairy tale comes real; i've looked at love that way.

But now it's just another show. you leave 'em laughing when you go

And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.

I've looked at love from both sides now,From give and take, and still somehow

It's love's illusions i recall.

I really don't know love at all.

Tears and fears and feeling proud to say "i love you" right out loud,

Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, i've looked at life that way.

But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say

I've changed.Something's lost but something's gained in living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now,From win and lose, and still somehowIt's life's illusions i recall.

I really don't know life at all.

So, that's a Love 101 class.... and be prepared that this class will never end.. the test and quizzes and appraisal will still exist.. but there will be no final mark!

(a fool of love)

Most annoying cinema moment

This blog is posted from my reply to a bulletion board: the title of the questions is: what is your most annoying cinema moment?

When I watched Superman Returns in KL, there's a man beside me who continously said "tsk..tsk..tsk.." and followed by moving the head as a sign of amazed and admiration, everytime Superman comes and rescues people.. so annoying..!

Well, what do you expect...? He's a Superman for heaven's sake!

Nomaden

Well, being mobile is one thing that attract me to my current job and I've been doing the same over the last 5 years. I wouldn't considered myself as mobile enough as my expectation, since my airline's frequent flyer is never being upgraded from silver:p.

But, probably I was quite mobile, to- never appeared on family event's pictures, to - always missed in old friends reunion and weddings, lost track of this friends are married or having newborn babies or even change her haircolor:). only keep intouch with the rest of the world with a networking Friendster, 75% more of the daily conversation happened remotely, either emails, chatting, sms-es or phonecall. Unpacked and still full big suitcase at home (hmm.. this one is more because I am too sloth to do the unpacking right away..)

There are some good and bad things from this condition:

- Hey, being mobil is the one that I've kept asking my boss about!

- For those who don't know, Indonesia's big cities airport lounge is one of the best:), and cost nothing, welll we are talking about 1 Rp cost ( and that's mean.. 0.000106 USD), you can nib some snacks, read free mags, nice toilets and beer is available if you're lucky.

- talking about airport, dunno how I thank Periplus bookstore in Jakarta's airport for they don't cover and seal the maganize so I'll be updated with Hollywood newest gossips, such as Paris Hilton cut from the granddad wealth, or best and worst bikini bodies.. (gosh! those cellulites and wrinkles..eeewww, almost unreal to happen:D)

- there are always occasions such as "the last time doing this here", "the last time sleeping in this bed there", "my friends set me off to airport for the last time", including the last crazy party the night before the flight early morning the next day.

- People mistaken me to myself in other location, get it?, for example, I was introduced to one person, and she replied: "oh yeah, there is one other girl with your name in Balikpapan" then I have to replied.. "well, guess that girl is me as well":)

- I have lots of trouble with banking and credit cards information. Whenever I did phone banking, they will always request personnal detail, such as office address and phone numbers... and there where I always have trouble.. usually I asked back.. "give me more hints, such as the code area please"..:p

- Can't participate or even worse, throw an idea for weekend getaways or vacation together with friends/cousins.. since I'll be doomed if suddenly on that agreed date I am dissapearing.

- Loosing so many chance to plan the vacation wisely i.e. getting cheaper deal for the tickets and hotel by booking much in advance. Tell ya.. much in advance just doesn't work here!

- my back hurts, and probaly I must investigate if I should be much taller if I weren't carrying the heavy laptop bag here and there

- Always be the unknown girl who suddenly nest in one of the cubicle..:) and go to the pantry every 30 min to grab the tea and dissapear after a few days.

- Related to address, I happened to have trouble with my creadit card bill since I received the statement after it's due date.. my mails mixed up and I don't have anybody to take care and send it to my current address (hey, I don't have a premanent current address, remember!)

- Not only once or twice I arrived at the office bringing all war amunities (i.e: my gym equipment and all my stuffs in suitcase).

- Meet again old people who I never tought that I would meet again in the future - teach me that i must be good to everyody, no exception, who knows I'll meet them again and in the condition that i need them:) - (well, this one is a good point, don't mistaken it as bad point) - such as yesterday, I met the girl who I recruited 4 years ago.. now she's all mature with a big bump in her stomach that due in weeks:). Or the next manager is my classmates in the first technical course... some tweaked fate I must have:)

- Lots and lots of people to bring souvenirs or snacks.. well i do the same to other people too!

- Must befriend with the office boys, since the photocopy machines in the offices is user password protected - a good way to save some trees I suppose!

Which remind me, good with the IT, since everytime arrived in new offices, have to activate the entry card, otherwise I can't enter the room.

Whoa.. the list can be endless here.. but once again.. I enjoy it and want for more!

Shia of Disturbia

I think I start to love this young actor: Shia LaBeouf. I've watched 2 of his movies and he can bring a very interesting character in the way he uttered the dialog. Actually both of his characters: as Sam Witwicky in Transformer and Kale Brecht in Disturbia looks similar, as a slightly outcast just average teenager who got a lifetime rock experience. Meeting and befriend with Alien robots n the first movie and be a voyeur and identify a serial killer and then got himself and his mother in a danger.

At this point, then his true potential hasn't been fully revealed yet. But reading all the critics, mentioned that he was one of the potential actors to be in the future, plus he got involved in lots of promosing big project such as Indiana Jones.

One funny interview with him: when he was asked what was the meaning of his name. He replied Shia is Hebrew for Praise the Lord and La Boeuf is French for the beef, so together, his name means: Praise Lord for the beef:).

Well, back to the movie: Disturbia is a story of a teenager, Kale Brecht, who lives with his single mother. After an incident of him attacking his spanish teacher, he was under police supervision to be home arrest with the alarm attached in the leg. His mother cuts the cable, then he got bored inside his room and started to play with the binocular and peeping his neighbours. Start from the 3 naughty little boys who secretly watching porn in their room, a nice looking new girl, to a weird guy lives alone.

Kale then suspected the man to be a serial killer, which we led to believing that he was right, then wrong then right and this threaten his monther who fell into the killer's hostage.

This movie could be a normal suspense/thriller movie.. things made it different is the story: a suspense started from a home arrested boy is quite new. and yet again, Shia as Kale can show an interesting point of attention of this movie.

One thing caught my attention (and also several other as I read imdb review) is the detail of picture and sound .. small things in Kale's room looks so lively and thorough.. to bad I just watched this is a dvd, I should be going to the cinema instead!

Tagline: Every killer lives next door to someone

How James Bond gets his tagline

On a flight James bond was sitting next to a Telugu guy.

Telugu Guy: "Hello, May I know your name please?"

James Bond: "My name is Bond" Continuing in his inimitable style, " .....James Bond."

Then Bond asks: "And you?"

Telugu Guy: " My name is Rao...Siva Rao... Samba Siva Rao... Venkata Samba Siva Rao... Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao...Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao... Sitaramanjaneyula Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao... Vijayawada Sitaramanjaneyula Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao..."

Since then when anyone asks Bond his name he simply says "James Bond"

(credit to Chrys)

This is a pure joke, background check, that even in the newest movie "Casino Royale" he still introduce himself in the original 2 steps.

Pride and Prejudice..

Tagline:Sometimes the last person on earth you want to be with is the one person you can't be without.

I don't know what's going on with this girl, Keira Knightley.. Not that I like her or the way she acts.. but seems that she's blessed with good choices of films and the opposite actors:).

This movie: Pride and Prejudice..is one movie that I would never thought that I'll be able to keep my eyes awake until the end, but in fact I did, and I like it so much:).

It's true that I always falls for a cute british accent and environments in the movies despite different era it took:) after Love actually, then comes this one. Based from Jane Austen's classis novel in England around 18th century (which I hurriedly downloaded the electronic version and was trying to print it in the office to get a better reading and knowledge about the literature, after I watched the movie). This is a story of 5 siblings, 5 Bennets girl. The tomboy, stubborn Elizabeth (Lizzie) as the center of the story, Jane - the fair and lovely one, Quiet Mary, Immature Kitty and the wild Lydia. Their mother, Mrs Bennets only has 1 purpose in her life, is to get the wealthy and prosperous men to marry all of her daughters.

In one balls, the famously wealthy Mr. Bingley, his sister Caroline and best friend, Mr. Darcy comes. at an instant, Jane was clicking to him and they become inseparale. While Lizzie hated the best friend, the proud and snobish Mr Darcy - with his "quizzical eyebrow", dark hair and tight lips.

Not long to find out that Lizzie and Mr Darcy were actually interested to each other, but both keep denying the feeling and act as hostile to each other as possible.

The conflict comes when a far cousing Mr Collins came, by law he will inherit Mr. Bennet's wealth, unless he married to one of Bennets sisters. So he proposed to Lizzie, which she rejected, that made her mother were mad. While for the lovebird Jane and Mr Bingley, they got separated due to his sister and some misunderstanding.

All misunderstandingness leads to Mr. Darcy as the cause, made Lizzie rejected when he said that he loves her in the middle of the rain. After several things happened, found out that Mr. Darcy has done good effort to help and solves several Bennet's family problem, made Lizzie realized that actually he is a good man and she loves him. After Darcy's aunt come and warn Lizzie about not to get too close to her nephew. Darcy come to lizzie and again propose in his own words:

Mr. Darcy: You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

Which is one of my favourite parts in the movie, seeing him walking from afar and appear from the morning mist to come and find Lizzie and told her what he feels. Other nice part is when Lizzie explained to her father that she loves Mr Darcy.. her expression when she said that she loves him was so warm and cute.

Other nice parts:

1. When Mr Darcy hold Lizzie's palm to help her climbing the cart, after he let her go, he spread the fingers as it was electrocuted.

2. When the two of them finnaly dance (of course!)

3. When Mr Darcy helped Mr Bingley rehearsed to propose to Jane.

4. Everytime Lizzie said "Had I not" in her thick british accent.

5. all so english settings in the movie.. just realized that actually they got their dress dirty:)

6. When Lizzie tried to run and chased by Mr. Darcy.. they loss for words and so weirdly amusing!

7. The funny and lovable Mr. Bingley is just a matched counterpart for the calm and tight Mr. Darcy. Unfortunately the duration of the movie is too short for Matthew Macfayden to show all of his Darcy character.

8. The whole movie: altough this is a very romantic story: no kisses at all:)) (well, except the cut end that I haven't watched)

9. too bad that the pirated DVD I watched, cut off at the end, the film then ends when Mr. Bennet shouting " If there's some gentlemen who want to ask my daughters to marry, tell them I am at leisure" :))

*sigh*.. I just fall for this movie!

Golden Compass

Setiabudi One

Fri - 04/Jan/08

By myself

Rumor said that this movie will beat LoTR, which i will have to reply, not yet:). Based on the novel "Dark Knight Material" (or something similar with that).

The tagline is: "It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself."

One girl, lyra Belacqua has to go in a journey to save her father (or whom she knows as uncle) Loard Asriel, while her mother is in the opposite side Mrs. Coultier. Lyra is the only one who can operate the alethiometer or golden compass, the things to tell you every truth you seek. Accompanied by Pan / pantalaemon, her daemon, the gypsy friends, Lorek Byrnison the bear and Lee Scoresby.

This is the first part of a trilogy.

This movie is definitifely has to be watched in a cinema, instead of 18" laptop screen. My favourite is the daemons. how the director describes them, started from Pan - the keep changing - mongoose, golden monkey of Mrs Coultier, steelmaria, the white leopard of Lord Asriel, the hawk of Ma Hawkins, the beagle of Roger, the beat dongs of the guards, the cricket of the cunning ministers.. so creative.

Leaving PKU

Still remember when I posted a blog about this new town, this new assigment last feb.
And now, time really flew that I have to say good bye again.

Not that this is the best place that I've been.. but really I keep believing that anywhere you go, any situation that you've been.. if it's over.. make you stop for a while and just try to grasp anything that you can for the last time....

You're my papaya:)

Related to my blog entry about the encounter with an old friend and that made my heart warm, Novi has expressed her jealousy and have her own guilty feeling of why her presence seems not that significant so that I never put it in the blog.

Novi (N): " I read your blog about your friend and I felt that maybe I am too boring that you never write something about me"

Me (M): (speechless.. and) "shit! now how do I respond to this?"

(Hey, being a girl, I should never be in the position of being the accussed, instead I should be in her position of being the prosecutor:D)

M: "well, let's put it this way"

M: "For example, you know I love papaya, I always have to eat that fruit everyday and everyday also I always think of, whether I still have some stock at home, if not, how can I run to the nearest supermarket and grab some"

M: "and someday I met a rare exotic fruit, so I put the review in the blog and put the picture also. But I never will search this fruit everyday and miss it if I don't get it for one day"

M: "Instead, the papaya that I never wrote about, will always needed everyday"

M: "and you know, you are my papaya.."

N: "Oh,... you're so sweet:)))"

(pffiuuuhh.. now I know how it feels to be a Daniele Vigo:p)

Hahahahaha.. peace Nov, finally you inspired me to write something in my blog eh?

Kaki Kodok

I am crazy of this blog-like thing called TravelBuddy (for short: TB), this is like a net working stuff but more specifically for traveller and people interested in travelling.
We can, submit the review of some places, attractions, food, places, write travel blogs, write description of new places, submit travel pictures.

It has a uniques rewards points that, for example:

to get a photographer award: we must submit >= 500 pictures and >= 5 people smiles at our pictures.

I was aiming to get an award called Travelpedian: that we have to write the description about new places >= 10.

I got a chance to submit 2 new places when I came back home: Cirebon and Slawi, 2 small towns which I passed on the way to Jakarta.

I also wrote the review about the specialty dish from Cirebon, which is frog legs (swikee) - Kaki Kodok and put the picture.

So, beyond my internet's expertise (which is not vast at all, anyway), suddenly the description of Cirebon town attached with my frog leg's picture..

Gosh! Looked silly and not related.. but what can I say.. until now I still can't find how to change the picture back:)

http://www.travbuddy.com/Cirebon-travel-guide-1311568