Flying Piggy Diaries

Engaging Your Mind ... Look for God

2008-06-07T13:08:00.002+07:00

Lately im pondering.

Bible said that the world will look at us, saying what a fool, for believing in something not tangible. So I took it literally, acting like a fool. Just believing, clinging to the belief, sometimes doubting and trying to turn it down. Seldom was my doubt answered, I just try to suppress it, rationalise it, after all, we're supposed to look like a fool aren't we ?

But that same bible also said about believing with your heart and mind. Believing with your soul, but also with your MIND. Meaning intellectually, pragmatically, realistically .. Wow

Im afraid i might fall, it might rock my faith. But the more I think about it, the more it rang. Afraid to look because I might fall, I might lose my faith .. isn't that means that Im not faithful ?

So we embark on a journey, will not going to shy away from difficult question, will look for an answer for my doubt, will avoid the cliche of God's will (it's been used too much anyway)... I have faith that He'll strengthen me..

Let's start with Language of God (written by Human Gnome project leader). And we'll see after it.

Thanx

Integrating My Life as a Manager - Teaching a new trick to an old dog

2008-04-11T15:23:00.000+07:00

I have learned that actually I like to be considered as a nice guy. It's nice to feel that I've helped someone and I have add value to one's life.

As I went into management role, sometimes I have to make hard decision, I end up hurting someone, or sometimes I just can't do a thing. And then I think I am not so nice anymore.

Anyway a sorely needed analysis from my side shows ... Hmmm to add value, doesn't mean that someone have to like me. Or to rephrase... it doesn't mean that someone have to feel that I have helped him.

Add value means reproving, add value means helping, add value means coaching, add value means a lot of thing...

And add value didn't have to mean ... I make them feel good ...

Still so hard to do ... thus i thought .... am I becoming co dependent ?

I hope not ... need to teach this dog a new trick ... on how to add value based on what I believe and doing it in a mindful, compassionate way.

God Will Take Care of Me

2008-04-10T17:59:00.000+07:00

"Follow the Leader! That's what God is saying. You don't have to be smart to be obedient. You don't have to be creative or clever. All you have to do is obey. We think we have to sort of outwit God on the horizontal. But God says, "I know your situation. I'm telling you exactly what you ought to do, so go do it. Take a heifer, go to Jesse, offer the sacrifice, and look around. I'll tell you the man I've chosen for the job." Isn't that simple?"

Only 3 minutes before, I am ranting that I am stressed out ... I want God to change me to be a better learner ... Im pooped by life. Then one click and voila ....

He is a supreme being, divine person, with a weird loving sense of humor ...

Mixed emotions

2008-03-05T14:49:00.000+07:00

Have mixed emotions today...

I am currently sitting in starbucks drinkin coffee and eating sadwich. I am unable to talk. The throat is sore, i lost my voice about 2-3 hours ago and have this terrible headache. i went here to buy fgtrotces something to alleviate my throat.
Office matters is ok today after some haywire several days back. Find that i hv too many monkey (actually a zoo pool of crittens).
a best friend said he's leaving and tho i really glad for his undertaking, therse a twinge of sadness as we're going to be fighting in different boats now.

how come i feel peace also ya? out of the up and down the roller coaster ride?

if i am goin to reflect? wha lesson will i took over these happening

some may suggest detachment. vut i feel ejoyment. maybe because i enjoy the turmoil.

now if only my daughter nanny would cancel her resination

Robbed !!!

2008-01-07T06:40:00.000+07:00

2 hours before posting this blog ...

I was robbed ...

Handphone, laptop, ipod ... Gone !

It was 3 to 4 guys in motorcycle, and they managed to deceive me.

Well ... i dunno what to say, what to feel. But i do know, damn ... i have a lot of things to do, to reclaim my life (that laptop contains 9 years of work !!! and i put the backup there also !) ...

Let's start doing it ...

GOD’s GRACE, HOW DO I SURVIVE THE CRAZY WORLD !!!!

2007-12-07T21:38:00.000+07:00

A personal testimony to be delivered in kuliah etika. Bandung 8 December 2007

I am a successful person. I lead a team of 8 consultants in one of the most prestigious consulting organization in the world. My salary has increased 20 fold from the time I started working. I am well regarded in my field as an expert, people respect me and look up to me. They came to me to solve issues, to get advice. My company charge thousands of dollars to our client to sell my services. I have a lovely wife

A thought in your mind : Wow this guy is so arrogant, there’s a lot more people more successful than his definition....

I am an average student, my GPA is only 2.7 (actually a little bit less than that). I got D for my Kimia dasar (and have to join “semester pendek”). Out of that 2.7 I think I have several D’s that I decide not to have. My first Job is a clerk job (technical documentator). I was passed up for promotion several times. I actually got demoted in the first day of my job...

Additional thought in your mind : This guy is “tidak tahu diri” to be arrogant in the beginning while actually he’s very lucky ... yup he’s very lucky to be in the position he is now. I wonder if he’s a liar too ???

I am a fat person. I weigh more than 100 kgs. Mmm I got into fights during my relationships (with my previous girlfriend) about my weight ... (still have fights with my wife). I was rejected by Australian Government to study there because they say I am TOO FAT. I have a flat foot, I lag behind in hiking, in sports ... in shopping (in the mall with family) ...

Thought : now this guy is losing it ... now he’s blabbering about fat ...

BUT HOLD ON !!!!

What if I tell you, it’s all because God’s Grace. You know, GRACE .... in Indonesian “Kasih Karunia” .... we all know about John 3:16 ( I hope you do ). Have you know what Grace is ?

Grace is something you don’t deserve, something given to you but it’s not because of your performance, it’s not because of your looks, it’s not because of your thoughts ... It’s just given to you by the owner... by the Grace giver ... In case of God’s Grace .. bible says God give it out of LOVE ...

I am what I am now because of God’s Grace. Of course not the bad things, that’s because of my self (i am quick tempered, a sloth, boaster, like to delay things etc). But the good stuff, my success, my status, my salary, my GPA, my grades, my job, my family, my body ... it’s all because God’s Grace.

And let me show you, TWO examples of God’s Grace based on my beginning statement ... Before let me show you acronym I made up.... God’s grace is about

GOD

Gratitude

Relationship

Attitude

Contentment

Enthusiasm

Example number 1 (WARNING THIS FOLLOWING TEXT ONLY APPLIES TO ME IN NO WAY I AM ASKING YOU TO BE FAT ALSO !!!!)

GOD has made me, from a mix family (my father was still not saved L pray for us ya). And my body has a very slow metabolism (maybe because im so lazy and bad at sport ... ). Thus I am FAT

But ... now I am Grateful because God had allow me to be fat ... see the following for WHY and WHAT I DO ABOUT IT

Being fat made me pleasant and very unthreatening. I like to laugh, and I usually act funny. So people feel at ease with me. God has ignited a passion for helping people ... it really help then to be fat in Relationship.
I have thus develop a trusting Attitude toward people. A lot of people tell me naive. But I prefer to trust people first then sort it out later.
I learn to be Content, because if you see the facts, actually any of my achievement is only because of God. I really have a little to do with that. So I am ok with what I have.
But ... I think a good Attitude and Contentment brings good Enthusiasm in what you are doing. It give you a purpose ... because you’re focusing on relationship ... not on achievement...

See ??? God Grace hidden among the fats of my body .... oh ya ... additional facts :

I try to diet though, being fat is not healthy
The biggest God’s Grace connected to me being fat? My Wife ... If Australian government didn’t reject me because of my weight, I’d never join Magnus and I’d never met Venny. Because I appear pleasant and harmless.. then after 5 years knowing Venny ... we got married J

Example number 2 ...

GOD’s grace have given me a job. A good job in Bandung first.... I took that job because I promised my leader in the Navigators, i’ll stay for a year. I quit the job to go to Australia (you all know what happened then).

Grateful because of the rejection, because the money then was spend to fund my training to enable me to land a job at Magnus (end up with a career in consulting and a beautiful wife)

Relationship, consulting world is all about relationship, the passion about people God has given me enables me to focus on people. Focus on relationship. Trying to share my life. I am so blessed to be trained in the Navigators ... it really put the perspective on sharing your life, on being a really thoughtful person. I tell you, you bring that thoughtfulness in every relationship you have ... you are in a good road to success

Attitude, the first thing I realise when I got my job was .. I know nothing. I have no experience. Thus ... the most applicable attitude I can have is .. humility. (rendah hati). You got to find excellent people in consulting. You will meet cream of the crop of any organization, and it really helps to be humble ... to be able to listen, to be able to understand, to be able to feel, and put their needs above yours.

Contentment .... Can you believe ? I never asked for a promotion ... I never asked for a raise .. I never asked for a position ... I learn to be content, I have been passed for promotion 2-3 times. I have been lied to about my performance several times. But I learn to be content.. Why ? Because it’s God’s Grace remember ??? I have not deserve it, I do whatever I can .. .but at the end it’s God’s giving...

Enthusiasm ... I can’t see a people person who’s not enthusiastic about life. There’s a lot of people out there that you can help. There’s a lot of people you can bring the good news ...

So that’s it ... God’s Grace ...That’s how I survive the world ... by

Focusing on GOD ... and I make it an effort to be Grateful in everything. I focus on Relationship instead of achievements. I tried to have a good Attitude about everything. To have Contentment for everything I have.And of course bring about the Enthusiasm ....

Hope you can try that also ...

Closing remark...

1Co 15:10 Tetapi karena kasih karunia Allah aku adalah sebagaimana aku ada sekarang, dan kasih karunia yang dianugerahkan-Nya kepadaku tidak sia-sia. Sebaliknya, aku telah bekerja lebih keras dari pada mereka semua; tetapi bukannya aku, melainkan kasih karunia Allah yang menyertai aku.

God have given His grace to me, I am what I am now because of his grace. Im sure His grace in me would not be wasted. Hmmm but have I do more than everyone? Not yet … But it’s true … it’s not me … it’s GOD’s GRACE …

PS: Written in English because I wrote better in English… and also this is suppose to be delivered to undergrads in ITB … they better learn English J

E e

2007-11-25T08:11:00.000+07:00

"you know i've done it in whole mal in jakarta. there's not one that i missed" people will just llook at me in disgust.

fast forward yesterday.

my daughter have no proble. doing it in gas station.

today, in the mall my son did it. after ten minutes, aiko want to go also.
theyre truly daddy's children

Bread foot (Kaki Roti)

2007-10-17T04:47:00.000+07:00

Dut, kaki lu kaya roti ... (Fatso, your foot looks like bread) ...

This is the usual remark used by Lusti when she looked at my feet. Yep they are large and wide and thick ... I usually can only wear Clarks because it's the only brand that offer "Wide" size (not to mention that it's as expensive as it can get)

And ... about 3 weeks ago...

"Do you have size 22" ...

ups dont fit ...

How about 24 ? .... don't fit also ... 25 ????

"Sir 25 is for 2 1/2 years old ?" "Maybe you can go to our store downstairs, they have more models to chose from"

"Sir this one has removable soles, especially designed for thick feet babies" ...

So there it was, the scene at Gading's shoe store, Kenai has inherited his father's feet. It was Oshkosh, that has special size with removable soles so Kenai can wear size 23 (still the size for 1 1/2 year old though ... well better than 25). Bless you Osh Kosh (expensive but worth it)....

BTW, when we tried size 25 ... it fits perfectly but he look like Donald Duck

Representative ...

2007-09-13T01:48:00.000+07:00

Kenai looks like his father .. yea whats new. I do think he look far better than me, with his cute smile and antics.

BUT ...

Last time I printed out one big picture for my aunt ... and this is the picture I've chosen.

Why do you ask ??

It represent him fully. A curious stare with some "blankness" in them hahahaha, "tatapan melongo" in bahasa.

It recap the usual greeting that I've usually used to Kenai:

"Selamat pagi/siang/malam Keken, apa kabar ? Apa yang bisa papa bantu Keken ? Kenapa tampangnya bengong seperti itu Keken ?"

Translation:
Good morning/afternoon/evening Keken, how are you? (He will stare at me .. no smile, just staring curiously)
What can I do for you Keken? (still staring ... maybe a hint of smile)
Why do you stare like that Keken?

Yep it recaps, this is Kenai :)

Being Shot At ... !!!

2007-08-06T17:17:00.000+07:00

From one of nice articles at Grant's Graceland

Got a nice reminder...

...just because you are being "shot" at does not mean you are not in the correct battle, it is just a reminder that you ARE in a battle ...

Yep

That's right ...

Beautiful World - On being a parent

2007-07-30T16:56:00.000+07:00

Showed this photo to my former manager ... "If you see this picture, we wonder how come the world can be so screwed up..."

So true ... children innocence and smile ... my children.

And, the responsibility to oversee them growing up is bestowed upon me and wifey ... surely that need a vast dosage of prayer ...

Harry Potter - hmm I wonder ...

2007-07-30T16:26:00.000+07:00

Warning ... this post contain spoiler ...

Just read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ... and I end up wondering ...

You know, there's this notion in some people, that Harry Potter and JK rowling is the embodiment of the devil itself. Promoting magic to children especially Christian children. it's unacceptable ... cannot be ... atrocious etc.

Well I was just wondering now that in the story, Harry Potter chose to die, so that others can live ... and then live again... I was wondering what would be the argument from those above now ... "You know son ... Harry Potter is bad ..." "Why Dad ..." "It promotes magic ..." "Oooo ... but isn't Harry chose to sacrifice himself and rise from the dead Dad ? Just like the bible stories ?" " Welllll I dunno son, at least magic is bad, Harry Potter is bad ... end of discussion"...

Im not defending Harry Potter, but like I wrote, I just wonder ... what would the argument be ...

Our Ancol Trip

2007-07-18T18:14:00.000+07:00

Hmmmppfffhhh

Got complaint from an old lady today

"Been checking flyingpiggies ... no update at all ... NOTHING " ...

Ya ya ya ... mam I've been so busy...

And... what was that writing about commitment again ... ??? Hmmffpphh....

Okay lah ... I should make good of my word isn't it. So let me tell you a story about the day we went to Dunia Fantasi Ancol...

Yep .... it was the last day of school holiday. And gosh... I haven't spent any quality trip with my girl. And monday she's due in school again. What to do oh what to do... And at the end I do what any loving father would do ... Skip work ... okay not skip work but take an emergency leave (Hey I have tons of leave okay ... seems ages since I've taken them ..... officially >:) )

So here we are ... 12 in the noon ( not a good idea I tell you ) driving to Ancol. Of course Aiko is excited. Look at her smiling - cute isn't it

We went together in a circus pack ... my mom was being generous that day so she took all the maid's children, our driver's children and off we go in a very large group. I thought there were 25 of us at that time. Alot of person huh.... Heres Aiko with Risel, the maid's daughter

Off we go started with the merry go round ...

Then off we go to the boats ...

OKAY OKAY you didn't see the boat ... hey what do you think how on earth I can take a picture of the boat while riding it ? Who do you think I am .. mr Fantastic ????

Ok ... next come Dumbo the flying elephant ... our experience ????? WELLLLLLL let's just say Dumbo had troubles getting off the ground ... Aiko must be getting heavy .... Here's the view behind Dumbo's ear

After Dumbo's experience, daddy hadn't had the heart to try out the motorbikes... so here's Aiko with aunt Isty...

Afterwards ... It was chaos ... The heat and the up and down in dumbo took it's toll on Aiko's stomach. And Daddy being insensitive HAD TO take Aiko on a circling teacup (dunno what's the name)... So Aiko was crying ..."Papaaaa sakit peruttt" ... (daddy my tummy hurts) ... Daddy was brokenhearted ... what to do ... Take her to istana boneka (dolly castle) ... but then she was so tired and her tummy must felt terrible, she fell asleep in daddy's arm in the LOOONGG Dolly Castle queue... Mind you Aiko was not that heavy ... only 22 kgs !!! So .. being a manly daddy I carry her throughout the queue (i swear .. must be 1/2 hour long), and throughout the queue Aiko was .... how do you say it ... FARTING !!! Must be good for her stomach though...

Luckily in the dolly castle, tummy feeling better, Aiko was being her happy self again ...

After that we ate ... and JOOOYYY oh JOOOYYY ... mommy decided to skip work also ... well mommys story was a bit more dramatic, as she sneaks out the office (hopefully her boss didn't read this blog) ..

So after that ... Dolly castle again !!!

Then the ferris wheel - Mommy is afraid of heights
After that ... we got FIREWORKS !!!

And ended with another go at the merry go round

And ... we're all happy ... well at first Aiko is grumpy when we about to go home
But .. she's soon became her cheerful self again

Multiply !!!! a commitment

2007-07-02T21:36:00.000+07:00

Matthew 28:19-20 .... multiply ....

Hey what i am thinking ? Nah ... it's only my new "recommitment" to write. Just finished this multiply site.

I'll try my earnest to update it regularly.

A Confession of A Narcists ....

2006-10-19T16:06:00.000+07:00

Look at her ...

Isn't she beautiful ....

And then look at this .....

Then you will realize that the following parables are true ... "Like father ... like daughter" ....

Hahahaha

Damn Electronics !!!!

2006-09-18T17:14:00.000+07:00

I bought an Ipod last month ... as shown here .... it was the 5G 30 GB model, as I said, it holds lots of music, the sound quality was fabulous. I paired it with a Koss Sparklug earphone. I also bought the dock and the remote and connect it to my stereo in our room.

Everyting was perfect ....

Until ...

And last week Charles update me with the HORROR ..... APPLE RELEASE THE ENHANCED 5th generation Ipod. Those bastards ! Why couldn't they wait for another month or six ? Why couldn't they let me feel good as I have one of the coolest, dandiest and hip music accessories around ... Why .. why .. why .. And to make it worse, the 80GB model was just about the same price of my 30 GB one ...

This is the problem with consumer electronics, a hip things will quickly become commodity. Apple Ipod itself revolutionalize the MP3 player world. And then now we're flooded with a flock of MP3 players. Price becomes cheaper and cheaper, but feature wise, a 249 USD ipod have lots more features than a 500 USD ipod 2 years ago. Commodity goods, every one was doing it, so in a while it will come to price wars. Features become irrelevant, because everyone was stuffing every feature imaginable to their products.

Soooo ... I need to turn my attention to .... ACCESSORIES, no use fretting about the commodity market huh... As I said in the previous blog, that Harman Kardon Drive and Play sure looks fabulous....

Commodity stuff ... HUH !!! Electronics ... HUH !!!

Well I haven't started to fret about Canon releasing a 10 MP beginner DSLR over my "semi pro" 8 MP 30D....

Again ... commodity ... HUH !!!

That EF 24-105 L IS USM sure looks good :D

Jump and Splash .... The continuation ....

2006-09-16T22:00:00.000+07:00

Mmmmm

It's a continuation of my two recent blog ... the one titled splash and jump.. jump... Well let's go to jumping first.
The following pictures are proofs that Aiko likes to jump... The pictures are blurry (well wifey can't handle the canon 30D adeptly ... yet ), but it speaks bundles he he he ...

Then you can also guess that these pictures also speaks a lot about swimming !!!! Well last time I was afraid that Aiko was traumatized because she drowned at that time.... Welll worry no more .. Not only that she's likes swimming pool ..... SHE ALSO FLOATS !!!!
First Picture ... sleeping in water ...

Second Picture... notice how deep the pool was (1,4 meters) and how far was she from me ...

Daddy is soooo PROUD !!!

Jump Jump Jump ....

2006-09-14T17:59:00.000+07:00

Aiko likes to jump ... She's able jump up and down for half an hour straight. We have an additional mattress beside our bed and she used to jump down.

Now besides that mattres we need to put another mattress paralel to the window, because once she jumped and get bounced to the window (end up with a bruised head)...

It's amazing to see that someone so small has so much energy.

White Suit and Powdered Face

2006-09-11T23:20:00.000+07:00

The Venue :
Salom's Wedding

Couples sighting:
- Andrian & Venny &amp;amp;amp; Aiko & Nanny
- Daru & Raney
- Regina and Hubby and Two Children (forgot the names .... SORRY)
- Nindya & Helen & Hovan
- Tungting dan Evatek (hmmmm ... of course tungting plays the role of the MAN !!! :p )
- Maya & Lovy ... (no guy like, but couples none the less)
- Mico & Eva

The report :

Only one sentence ... The groom wears whitesuit with powdered face .... nuff said ... let the picture do the talking

Higher resolution pictures (and more of them) are here

Good luck to Salom and Mira

Swimming ...

2006-09-08T23:59:00.000+07:00

Got a confession ...

Once in one outing at the pool, Aiko fell down ... My fault, I was too far away and she was underwater for a second. Naturally she said... "udah ... udah ... Aiko udah ..." And I was heart broken. It was about 2 months ago.

The moment of truth is today, is Aiko traumatized because of that day ? Well I can report that it's ok now, she showed the same enthusiasm with water as before... But daddy come prepared now ... Look at the picture :) (sure she had a gulp of water .... well make that three, but nothing unexpected :p )

More picture here

How Did it Come to This ?

2006-09-08T22:34:00.000+07:00

Picture this,

My graduation day and birthday ... October 31st 1998... Oh my God is it really been 8 years since I graduated ? And .. and .. and ... it's been 13 years since I first entered college ???? Arrrgghhh... so .. Im ... Im ... Im ... 32 this year ....?????? ARRGGGHHHH....

Calm yourself Andrian ... this passage is not about your age ... it's about something far more sinister, far more diabolical, far more .... Yes it's far more important than my age ... it's magnitude surpassed Israel invading lebanon !...

Picture this ... a nice meal, a gathering of friends, about 10 of them. I graduated that day and coincidentally it's also my birthday. Then naturally we go for a meal ... the restaurant : Glosis, the food ... steaks ... some of them pork (hey Glosis serve those ...). The setting ... very much warm and lighthearted... friends were laughing, stories were shared, jokes were told .... Until the end of the meal ... the horror ...

Behold ... in the restaurant's yard ... a photographer along with a couple ... the bride were beautiful, but the guy .. o mi gosh, the guy ... He ... he ... he... He wore his hair high, I bet he used a full bottle of hairspray to achieve that hair. Hmmm ... picture Alec Baldwin, a thinner Alec Baldwin with slanted eyes (he was chinese), a weird cocky smile ... ah you got the picture. Then the prop ... they are the most horrible thing I saw that day ... they brought an old bike, a complete picnic apparel, with baskets and the accompanying picnic sheets (with box pattern), and the guy was holding ... A GUITAR !!!!! Sinister ... diabolical ... unprecedented ... and naturally faced with that kind of horror, we LAUGHED LIKE CRAZY ....

Fast forward 8 years (goodness it's been that long ya ...) I was speechless, stunned, surprised, shocked ... when I received ... this ....

How did it come to this, ... how come ... how dare him ... how dare you ... how come you let yourself be a laughing stock ... HA HA HA HA HA HA

Degradation of humanity, far greater magnitude than Israel's attack ... ha ha ha ha

Still I wished them best of luck. To Mira and Salom ... welcome to the unknown ... Im sure you will find it worth the trip...

Our prayers are with u guys...

CHEERS

Odong-odong

2006-09-03T17:51:00.000+07:00

What on earth is an odong-odong...
Hmmm it's like a miniature arcade machine for children. But it's powered by man, the guy will pedal and the odong-odong will move back - forth - up - down ... Just like arcade machines.

It's cheap, only Rp 500 per song ... Aiko usually spends Rp 2000 to 3000 in one go
Still confused ??? Let pictures do the talking:

Warrior of Light

2006-08-31T12:50:00.000+07:00

Found from the blog of my friend : from Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist:

"Every Warrior of the Light has felt afraid of going into battle

Every Warrior of the Light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone

Every Warrior of the Light has trodden a path that was not his

Every Warrior of the Light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons

Every Warrior of the Light has, at least once, believed he was not a Warrior of the Light

Every Warrior of the Light has failed in his spiritual duties

Every Warrior of the Light has said 'yes' when he wanted to say 'no'

Every Warrior of the Light has hurt someone he loved

That is why he is a Warrior of the Light, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is"

Music, lots of them

2006-08-27T23:01:00.000+07:00

A week ago I took the plunge and bought one of these....

Man it really nice to have most of your CD collection in one place. And it's soo good so I bought one more .... wait one more ? You see, Venny is pregnant now and she's nauseous all the time. That day she listened to music during our trip and it really help her. So I bought one (i know ... i know ... what about sharing ... :p )
by the look of it... Aiko enjoys it too... It's really a good buy, but now I have to refrain myself from all that accessories.... Hmmm that HK drive and play sure looks good :D

Out with the Old and In with The New

2006-08-23T22:55:00.000+07:00

We just replaced these ....

With these ....
Why you asked ? Well let's just say, the new ones have no joint, so less likely to break.... :(((

- Two little friends -

2006-08-21T16:41:00.000+07:00

They don't really understand each other ... (or do they)
Come from different race ...
Still look cute and played together ...
Even tried to cook together ...
Kids are fun ... kids are hillarious ...
It proves that the language of friendship spans further than our spoken language
I feel blessed just watching

Love is In The Air

2006-08-11T21:01:00.000+07:00

Today is a landmark day,

For the first time, I will accompany Aiko in a school trip. So it means about full 4 hours together, outside, far away from the comfort of our home, only me and her together. HOLD THAT THOUGHT ... of course I have taken Aiko alone before. But our endeavor together usually close at home, using my car. Buying something for Venny at the supermarket, buying food, buying fishes ... hmmm alot of buying is involved.

Today it's different, we're visiting a juice factory in Sentul, so that means venturing together to the unknowns, going by bus (how will she behave), going so far away (how will she behave), going without her nanny (how will she behave)... In short I have to change her, feed her, accompany her, entertain her, protect her without supervision... Am I able to do this ? .

So the D day cometh... Armed with a bag full of biscuits, milk, spare diapers and clothes, candy, water bottle, lunch, candies, jelly and others (I lose track) we went to the unknown in our small car (it's a KIA Visto). Well a day before Aiko threw up in the other car so even at the beginning of our adventure I already feel that butterfly in my stomach ... Well too late to turn back wasn't it ? Luckily (and happily) I could report that no major incident happened.

We arrived there at 8:45, and Aiko had to perform her class mandatory greeting time. So I went about in the lobby, and my jaw dropped.... ALL LADIES !!!! Ah there's one guy there hmmm old ... definitely grandpa ... well there's another over there ... hmmm too young ... maybe an uncle... well Im about the only daddy there. Aiyoh ... what to do, well it's hard to mingle with moms ... I had no clue on the topics ... So I cowered in the corner, trying to read a newspaper.

After half an hour our time had come... we boarded the bus. Amazingly the bus ride to the factory went on uneventful. Of course Aiko was still cute and cuddly (especially to boys). She kept bugging Jova in front and Matthew in the back (hmmm note to self, need to teach her to be classy so she'll attract the right kind of boys :D). But all in all it was fine ..... Jova's mom and Matthews's were chatting about their kids (both have two sons), one toddler was running amok in the aisle. Squealing laughing sound from the back ... hmm Michael cried ... well as I said, it was fine ... (fine = it was chaos but not unexpected)

We arrive in the factory at about 10.. and the heat was scorching. Luckily, Aiko was armed with a hat... We were gathered in a hall and lookie there, CLOWNS. Aiko was especially drawn to the sponge bob clowns. She kept tugging me to have a handshake with spongebob (not sure about the hygiene of that clownsuit though). But she wouldn't take no as an answer, so as you can see in the pictures, Aiko was very much involved with spongebob.

The factory tour itself was poorly aranged, and Aiko started to get cranky. But afterwards it was games time, and Aiko always liked games. The ball race ... starring Aiko, Owen, Jesslyn, Michael, Matthew, Jova well I don't remember them all. But all is under 2 1/2 years, so predictably it was chaos. Anyway everyone had a blast, and we parents were having fun too. Another highlight of the day is balloons !!! Popping balloons to be exact, somebody need to shoot the guy who had the idea of balloons in a hot day. Popping balloons were so numerous that I thought I may get heart attack. But in time it becomes soooo numerous that I stopped being surprised.

Well the next test was lunch time. Hmmm what should I do, ok, open the bag, take out lunch box, close bag, open lunch box, look for spoon, open bag, get spoon, close bag, look for water bottle, open bag, get water bottle, close bag ... you get the picture lah. During lunch time Aiko's three teachers were sitting next to us, hmm maybe because they expect me to screw up ?, but I passed with flying colours ... well not really flying colours may be acceptably ... (or was that barely) ... as I clumsily tried to make Aiko eat rice with chicken nugget and sausage.

Time to go home, and the trip home was uneventful ... again ... But then Aiko fell asleep on my lap and as I watched her face and as I look around.... it was the same. Love is in the air ... although I was different with all of them (well I am a daddy, they are mommies !), still the feeling was the same. Most of the kids were asleep, almost all of the parents were watching them with a smile (except for one mommies accross the aisle, she fell asleep too)... at the back there were squealing sound as one mother tickled her son... and so on. Yup that was it, definitely love is in the air ...

Hmmm going somewhere alone with Aiko ... Lets do that soon

Aiko and F11

2006-08-08T23:50:00.000+07:00

About 8 months ago I bought a small Fuji F11 as my daily use camera. I was hooked because of it's high ISO performance (ISO 1600 with the same resolution as ISO 400 in competing cameras).

It had serve me well, but today I found something in it that made me feel that it was worth every penny I spent.

Yes it's not sharp and blurred, but you see these was taken by Aiko, our 2 year old daughter. She had always played around with my camera and now I can proudly say that she has improved .... Alot ...

Again it was taken without flash, only made possible by the ISO prowess of the F11. Again .... I'm glad I bought this camera...

Gathering of Friends

2006-08-08T22:58:00.000+07:00

You can't argue that a gathering of friends can make you feel warm all over. And on last saturday, we did just that. Most of the ciaters in Indonesia convene together at our beloved Nindya's house.

The attendees were :

Nindya, Helen, Hovan (host)
Daru (our long lost friend in semarang, now had returned) & Raney
Bessie and Syntha (do I spell this right ?)
Hans and Gita ( special guest from Singapore )
Suryo and Kurnia and Vina (new addition to Ciat, cute daughter)
Andrian (alone, Venny wasn't well)
Mico & Eva
DRUMROLLLL Salom and Mira (amazing)

Here are several observations :

Hovan had a "nelongso" aura just like his father :)
Daru is as garing as ever
Luckily Bessie came well shaven (girlfriend had it's positive sides :D )
Vina amazingly has several similar trait with Aiko (note to self, need to get them together sometimes)
Hans and Gita seems very healthy (a very crispy observation :D)
All were sceptical about Salom showing up, but hey amazingly he did (we still think of you as Tuti lom)
Nindya and fam was a fabulous host, we do suspect Nindya will return to his usual function when we went home
Mico and Eva seems very happy (again Mico was well shaven, definitely a positive trait of having a spouse)
The blog writer, still can't write an essay ... can only communicate in points...

It was fabulous though, the food was very good (definitely better than agar-agar belut) with porks overflowing. Definitely need to do this more often.

more pictures here

Hope, chocolate, cashews

2006-07-24T11:56:00.000+07:00

Kalo Tavitha pulang dari swiss

I'll go to her table, I put out my hand and she'll frown.
But as quickly as that she will whip out a chocolate bar from her bag, well if I'm lucky I'll get two. Two months ago I get a red one (milk).... last month I got a green one (nuts). And trust me they're fabulous.

With a chocolate bar you got a certain service level expectation (AKA hope)... toblerone should taste like toblerone, silverqueen should taste like silverqueen. When you got something like Zeppelin Praline (hey don't ask me what it is, i found it in the internet), you are filled with hope, with expectation that this damn swiss chocolate better taste fabulous.

Then you found that it's not THAT fabulous... or worse, it has some gooey stuff with strange taste. Vintage nonetheless, just not fit for "kampung" tongue.

Ah ... let me rephrase ...

With an IT and consulting company you have a certain service level expectation on how it should behave.... You have heard good things about accenture (toblerone) or how soltius (silverqueen ... indian one) do their business. So when you want to join a famous company such as IBM .. you filled with expectation that this damn company is ... is.... is... is... is... (well i'm not putting my hope here, to many disappointment :D )

Then you found... that it's sucks big time, too many non value added processes (in your point of view anyway), unrealisic KPI's (again your point of view), seems wrong business model.

Back to chocolate business

Somehow chocolate is chocolate, there's a certain properties and taste that still chocolaty... Chocolate is sweet... well as with that Zeppelin Praline you can either throw it away, eat it anyway or you can do what I do ... bring cashews so it taste like the chocolate I love.

IBM is IBM there's certain properties and models that is specific IBM.... But still GBS is still consulting, and still the job that I like to do... so I bring cashews to the job, such as making friends with these crazy blog posters, learning in knowledgeview, engaging in a heated discussion with people around the world ... thats my cashews...

So its done then ... hopefully everywhere you can bring your cashews ... because anything anywhere there's gonna be gooey things that you don't like in the vintage chocolates :)

As Forest Gump says "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never now what you will get"

Forest is referring to those vintage box of chocolate with lots of taste in it :D

But this fat guy here says "Life is like a chocolate bar, it's not always runs true with your expectation, but you can still bring your cashews"

Hopefully IBM decides to put some cashews in their chocolate :D