June 29, 2011

At this moment...Part 2

Second thought, folks..

I think I wanna live on Mars..
Yeah, this is exactly what I paid for..to be #RandomlyRandom

But, check it out..it's a real temptation for a geek smart companion like me:)

I know some of you folks (Vanishing Generation', red) don't have any David Bowie on your playlist. Yep, it's just me:(

It's a god-awful small affair
To the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling, "No!"
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the silver screen
But the film is a saddening bore
For she's lived it ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on

Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?

It's on America's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Now the workers have struck for fame
Because Lennon's on sale again
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns
But the film is a saddening bore
Because I wrote it ten times or more
It's about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on

Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man! Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars? 



I know , posting an old unknown lyrics for a midnite note is not a cool normal behavior. Noted!
Shall someone cuddle me shot my head so I can be RIP off to bed now......anyone???
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June 28, 2011

Neil..

So, i really like this guy' bio...kinda::)
Well, it's a good plan...love it, buddy!!

"will eventually grow up and get a real job. Until then, will keep making things up and writing them down"

By the way, spent almost whole day to procrastinate clean up my room and rearrange my books. I think i should rent a room or small house for my own library collections. Dust and books' haters really are important issues for me!!







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At this moment...

At this moment..yup, at this very moment..something come across my mind.

I want to live in New York!!

No, don't ask me why because i don't even know the reason..

Hey, you don't have to judge me like that. It just a random thought. But who knows, maybe i'll find my story there one day:)

See, that's how my brain screw me up works, soooooo random!!!
But I Love It shouldn't complaint...
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It's Amazing!!

Yep, it's amazing how people can ruin our mood just in time we have our glorious spirit to make the day great!!

Well guess what, maybe you are also an as*h*le who always ruin other people day's too!!
So, let's take a deeeeppp breath and save the rest of your day.

See you again, World!!
I've got 10 hours ahead to save . Hope your day better than mine:)
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June 26, 2011

Rains...

Salam, World!!
It's 4.16PM here..I'm up ONLY for the rain!

Yep, I took a day off today. Not because i don't like the work. But, something something..

By something something means I didn't sleep last night and for some reasons I couldn't force my body to move any where this morning. Some people called it sleeping mode.

The only reason I opened up my eyes and standing by the window is the sound of neighbor banging my door this rain outside.
God knows how I love rains! Any..Rain(s)!!

I can write you a boring long pages stories of reasons why, but second thought..I better keep it for my self:)

There, my half an hour rain put my consciousness some where else. Only God knows where with only God knows who (eh..).

And most of the times, this kind of moment that somehow pull my self together (again), from pieces.
Thank you Allah, for sending me this beautiful rain today. I owe You (much).

Anyways, I'm so thrilled to write about what had happened last night. Well, it's not another romance extraordinary story or whatsoever. But, putting the puzzles together, maybe it is a (life) drama.

Alright, I should get going and meet my shower. Catch you up later, World!!
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June 25, 2011

(About) Today..

Morning..Assalamualaikum semua, gimana kabarnya hari ini??(opening acara tivi, red)

Ternyata planning semalam harus kandas karena harus kerja pagi..Mendadak!!

Can't complain, ini kan ladang amal juga. Katanya kalo kerjanya sungguh-sungguh banyak bakar kalori juga lhoo..:)
Jadi inget postingan tweet seseorang kemaren (maaf ya, lupa siapa). Bener sih, tapi lucu aja teori fisikanya dibawa-bawa.
"Gaya adalah massa x percepatan, Kerja adalah gaya x perpindahan. Jadi kalau banyak gaya dan nggak ada yang bergerak sama dengan nggak kerja."
Ihiyyy, bener banget tuhh, minimal jempol bergerak lha yaah!!

Maybe your morning will be better different  from mine. But as long as we put meaning in it, than your day counts!!

Hmm, Life's hard? Compared to what? You still get the chance to breathe free oxygen and chirping birds!

Saya water proof person..tapi pagi ini mau maksain shower-an ah..yeay me!!!

See you soon, World!!
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Tomorrow..

Still awake..

Before i go to sleep, allow me to share you my tomorrow's plan. Yep, one of my important principle: always share your thoughts, it will help you remember them because people will help you to remind you about your thoughts. It's like "planting" your ideas to other people heads. Or it's similar to ask others to help you remembering your ideas, get it?? (Err, LIEUURR yeeuuhh).

Okeh, so this is the plan (Insha Allah saya akan berusahaaaa) :

1. Up and Pray
2. Jog around mahallah
3. Cooling down and have my breakfast
4. Swing my squash muscles
5. Break time for a little chat with friends
6. Do the laundry
7. Check my emails and browsing
8. Clean up my room and books
9. Go for big lunch
10. Read books and journals
11. Have fun and of course late bed time:)

Hmm...terms and conditions apply sodara-sodara.
Kalau ternyata besok kambuh malesnya saya nggak cukup istiqomah, then I will go with Odd numbers hehe..alias saya akan ambil urutan ganjil dari aktifitas di atas ya. Kan Allah suka sama bilangan ganjil:)

Now, time to go to bed..Nite nitey, World!!
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June 24, 2011

Craziest Idea of Mine..

Idiihh..Apaan sih judulnya serem banget.
Okeh, Ini masih draft yaa, belom jadi proposal resmi whatsoever!

Nah, kan hari ini hari Jum'at ya? Most blessed day of the week (hmm..). Janjinya saya dengan diri saya sendiri adalah memenuhi tagihan "Tantangan Hari Jum'at". Latest reality show of me.
Katanya Inggrisnya cocok kalo pake judul "How Come It's Friday?" atau "Friday' Challenge" or maybe "Geuningan Parantos Juma'ah?". Yah, nanti deh kita pikirin namanya (urunan ide, red).

Jreng..jreng..Jum'at kali ini ide paling gila  gress dari sayah dari ide-ide lain selama ini. Ciee.. teasernya pasti bikin kamu-kamu ternganga-nganga (maaf, sounds like penyiar radio Oz  tahun 80-an jaman dulu).

Okey, here we go...

Kalo yang pernah interaksi  sama saya (sesama manusia, yg merasa pohon singkong nggak termasuk); dulu pasti pernah denger celetukan ngehek  aneh yang keluar dari mulut nggak pake asuransi imut-imut ini.

Kira-kira begini sikon-nya:

Tiap ada acara family gathering, atau piknik bersama keluarga, atau rihlah bareng (sekarang namanya udah pada ganti belom ya, itu istilah2 saya kok terdengar jadul bangets..), saya dan beberapa orang teman yang single tapi nggak available pasti bingung. Keluarga? Uhuukk, wadooww....

Keluarga kelinci sih adaaa, ato keluarga ikan mas koki...tapi Real Family as in husband and kids? Beloomm..

Ini sekalian KLARIFIKASI yaa..saya bukannya anti menikah!! Nope, I'm all family girl (!!).
Tapiii, saya belom bisa menikah karena status Chairgirl dan VVIP Gold member of Single Club sekolahalamIndonesia masih saya sandang. Ini sungguh amanah yang berat, dan ternyata belum ada anggota lain yang sanggup memikulnya. Jadi, tunggu ada kaderisasi dulu ya.
Iyah, ini club really does exist di dunia lain sekolah alam (kalangan terbatas dan super rahasia, red).

Kembali ke acara keluarga tadi. Celetukan kurang ajar  spontan dari saya adalah:
"Wah, ada suami rental nggak yaa? Buat wiken aja deh, atau yang per-jam buat acara family gathering ini!"

Atau..

"Ada yang mau sharing suaminya nggak sehari ajaaaa, buat family gathering?"


Seriously?? Yah, sodara-sodara...saya memang gila kreatif sampai tahap akut begini.
Dan, tentu saya sensor ya bagian ditabokin orang satu sekolah akibat komen tidak senonoh kurang baik ini.

Udah aah, teaser-nya kepanjangan!!
Pokoknya, hari ini...Jum'at mulia ini..entah kenapa ide itu muncul lagi menghantui kepala saya.
Ini bisa jadi pengaruh kopi latte (beneran yah, ini kopi bisa bikin kita telat mikir as in late gituh..). Atau memang saya kurang tidur tadi malem karena mimpi buruk nasi timbel (long story, next time).

Tapi, I'll tell you the details later on. Biasa lah, perlu rapat sama penasehat spiritual dan intelektual. Takut nanti banyak fans dan followers, saya harus siap mental kaan...(yah, i know..nyebelin ME).

Nangkep nggak sih ide intinya? Nggak? Iiih, baca lagi deh dari awal. Ini baru teaser lho, yang detailnya lebih "berat" isinya.

Tapi yah, sebelum saya posting detail selanjutnya, kudu minta ampun dulu (sama Allah yang Maha Tahu Isi Hati Sayah), juga sama orang tua atas segala kesalahan saya. Dan terima kasih pada teman-teman yang telah mendukung saya (??).

Udah aah...ntar aja yah, pantengin info selanjutnya.
Untuk yang nggak ngerti bahasa gaul indonesia ini, akan ada edisi internasionalnya lhoo. Tapi, ini saya kudu ngajarin bahasa Indonesia dulu sama penterjemah dari Amerika-nya (iya, Ms Maria, red). Jadi, mungkin tahun 2017 baru ada edisi bahasa lain yah blog-nya:)

Bye, see you soon, world!!
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Penang Journey

(An old notes from Penang)

Hey there, how's your world rockin'?
Mine, awesome like always

The only reason i write you is because i don't have anything to do this early morning in Penang. Yup, i'm in Penang rite now attending International Conference on Early Childhood and Special Education (ICECSE) 2011.
It's a conference where people talking and presenting their research within this related field (yeah, of course..what else then?)

I will post you later with details coz the program will be held until Sunday. But, i'll inform you other side of the journey of this program. Last nite after we had our last session of workshop (it was about sign language, by the way); Me, Leesa, Nazli, and Miss Abidah wass roaming around Penang town looking for something to eat.

Yup, adventure on our first day here. We took a long walk to go to the USM main gate. We passed the mosque. It was a beautiful mosque. And by beautiful i mean really old and "humble" architecture.

Coz non of us had ever known this town before, we asked for direction. And luckily one of brother at the bus stop gave us clue to go to Komtar or Padang Kota Lama with bus no 301 or 303.

Well, bit about Komtar that we know, it's a mall downtown here. Parkson and all those shopping stuffs. You can also find IT lots just like Lowyat in KL.
We arrived at Komtar after a bit jam. Bought towel and t shirt.

Padang Kota Lama was our next destination. After we asked one of mak cik in front of Komtar, we decided to go there by Becak. Yup, tourist becak. And of course it's YELLOW...

We took two becaks, 10rm each. Yeah, i know it's cheaper than Melaka. And it's a long ride also. Almost 15 minutes to reach Padang Kota Lama. He explained us about the city. Also one interesting event that we saw in one tent. It was something like Chinese drama performance. We saw performers dressed in traditional chinese costumes. And he said it happens only once a year duting this season. Wow...

We really want to see the performance, but i think it's impossible due to our tight schedule for the next day.

To make the story short...we finally arrived there. Padang kota lama, sea side view. After one and two (hundreds) photos, then straight to food court. Soon as we sat, some waiters came and offered foods. With a bit annoying style. Gosh!
We ordered Kerang bakar (grilled shells), tomyam, grilled squid and Laksa! Those foods plus our hungry tummy, a perfect combo to chew the foods within flash!

With full tank tummy, we walked by sea side Padang Kota. Not much but the wind really refreshing. Many street merchants and openly message service drew our attention. Attractive!

It was 10.30pm and we should wait for the bus for the next hour. Well, we decided to took taxi and went back to USM. What a nite...zzzzzz!!

See you soon, world!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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June 22, 2011

Revenge...(NOT) a Happy Ending

Okeh...so this is the revenge sequel from the first part (kalo belum baca, ya tolong dibuka lagi lah ya my previous story).

Sesuai dengan rencana semula, kita mendatangi ofis mahallah ya. Tapi, tidak seperti dugaan kita yang akan melibatkan adegan berdarah-darah rating dewasa, ternyata jawaban pendek dari kakak ofis adalah..
"Coba sis tanya leader cleaner tu, dy orang yang uruskan pasal spot check mahallah".
Bengong.
Ga ada skenario ini di rapat kemaren.
Diam. Balik kanan.

"Oke. Terima kasih".

My bodyguards: "What, that's it..we're leaving?"
Me: "Yep, let's ask that cleaner leader".

Tentu kita  kecewa ya karna nggak sesuai rencana. Tapi, maklum semuanya artis amatiran jadi giliran suruh kreatif malah minimalis a.k.a Mati Gaya Dot Com.

Okay, singkat cerita, kita carilah leadernya via gali lubang informasi dari secret agents kakak cleaner mahallah. Dan setelah tanya sini, suruh tanya sana, konfirmasi sini..GADA yang tau tuh KOPER di mana.

Mau Marah!!!

Tapi, siangnya pas lagi berendam ngadem di kamar mandi. kakak cleaner muncul. Mulailah dia curhat (sambil bersihin kamar mandi ya, bukan mandiin kita. Iih, parno). Dia cerita kalo dia ternyata lagi hamil. Suami keduanya ini orang bangladesh, udah nikah 3 tahun baru punya hamil sekarang. Anaknya dari suami pertama pada di Medan, sama ortu dy. Maap ya, kepanjangan kalo ditulis dialognya. Mana campur bahasa melayu pula si kakak tapi logat medan hehe..

Lanjut, dy bilang soal koper itu sempet leader dia omongin juga. Mungkin diambil sama security yang spot check hari Jum'at kemaren. Tapi yang pasti, kalo aku tetep keukeuh nyari tuh koper..maka mungkin ofis akan interogasi cleaner, secara dia yang tiap hari di mahallah.

Nah, masalahnya..kakak itu cerita. Dulu kawan dia ada yang seharian bongkar-bongkar tempat sampah ya , hanya karena salah satu student di Blok G keilangan pen drive dan ngotot sama ofis kalo yang tanggung jawab ya ofis (dan tentu ofis akan nyalahin cleaner).
Ih, sadis banget ya seharian suruh ngubek-ngubek tempat sampah!! Ketemu sih katanya, tapi kan kebayang kalee...Duuhh!!!

Kening berkerut..jadi kalo misi mencari kebenaran koper ini diterusin, apalagi pake gaya X-Men ato Si Pitung, kemungkinan kakak cleaner dijadiin korban sangat bisa diprediksi.

Ah, gimana ini..

Setelah proses berendam merenung selesai. Saya akhirnya tarik nafas panjang. Mungkin saatnya masalah koper ini diikhlaskan saja. kesian juga kalo kakak yang lagi hamil ini suruh ngubek2 mahallah demi koper dan buku.

Yah, mungkin Si Pitung akan bertindak yang sama. Mengikhlaskan kehilangan yang satu demi kepentingan kebaikan yang lain.

Hmm..baiklah, kasus koper ini dituutup sampai sini aja.
Kalau rejeki, pasti akan ada ganti yang lebih baik.

Dengan ini saya memutuskan, no more drama for the bag. I rest my case.

That's it, World! Try to let it go!
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What's your color today?

Salam, World!!

How's life? MIne, Alhamdulillah gets better:)

Before i write something about Revenge Part 2, i wanna share something new (for me, actually) about simple greeting as in title above.

I know, how are you..what's up?..et cetera must be your common hello. But, for some middle east culture asking "what's your color today?" is not literally asking your fave color of the day. They use this quote to replace those lame common greetings.

Well of course, they will say it in Klingon Arabic ways. But hey, as this morning my friend asked me what's my color today..my answer will always be the same..YELLOW!!!

Yup, that's my color as always..i don't care even my friends tag me as Jaune Jaloux :)

But NO, i will not apply yellow bright and shiny colors to my blog. Tried it once or twice. Not my style at all. Better keep the dark, cool, gloomy, elegant colors here. Pink doesn't suit me. Purple annoys me. Red hurts my eyes. Blue is too common. Orange seems cheap. White maybe will do, or brownish, or grey. No offense laa, it just my simple dark taste.

Alrite..next I'll share my second part of revenge. I know you've been waiting for the ending. Hehe.. whatever lah:)
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June 19, 2011

I am Special!!

Pagi ini saya mengumumkan bahwa t-shirt yang hilang 3 hari lalu telah ditemukan!!

I don't know how..maybe because I keep annoying people with my questions about this t-shirt. Well, maybe i could do the same for my bag!!!

Happy..Alhamdulillah!

Oyah, nemunya masa di plastik dalem basket laundry. Emm, entahlah, ajaib bisa tiba-tiba nongol disitu:)


One more case to go!!
Happy Ahad, World!!
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June 18, 2011

Revenge..Better served COLD!!

Niatnya kan yaa, lagi semangat nulis dan mau lanjutin posting "I wanna be.. part 2". Udah siap draftnya dan mau di posting ketika tiba-tiba internet putus. Etapi, sebenarnya itu alesan kedua karena yang pertamanya adalah kabar buruk kurang baik tentang koperku yang hilang (biarin, sok2 pada baca twit diriku kemaren yaa).

Tapi, buat yang ga punya akun twitter dan masih betah dengan facebook mukabuku di dunia saiber sosial, ini sekedar refresh berita...Dua hari lalu koper saya yang coklat itu raib dari store bawah tangga PG A block!!

Itu koper sebenernya udah agak lama nangkring di situh. Secara yah, daku kan seringnya nomaden (silahkan gugling) makanya koper selalu siap hehe...enitaim disuruh pulang sama majikan gaperlu peking-peking lagi:)

Nah, dengan paniknya yah sayah tanya2 semua orang yang masih hidup saat itu makcik cleaner dan tetangga-tetangga yang nampak batang hidungnya. Semua bilang GATAU..dan terakhir disarankan untuk bertanya pada ofis mahallah.

Grr..kalo untuk yang satu ini (ofis mahallah ruqayyah, red) kudu ada satu chapter lagi kayaknya. Cerita lain tentang betapa traumatisnya sayah akan sosok yang bertitel fellow dan antek2nya di ofis. Ah, kan jadi emosi lagi!!

Pokoknya ya, ntar deh saya posting soal latar belakang ofis ini. Tapi, mau gamau saya memberanikan diri setelah nelen dua lusin petasan juga nanya ke ofis soal koper ini.

Ah, seperti sudah dibayangkan sebelumnya. Mereka bilang gatau apa2, malah keluar hadits segala soal jaga barang2 lah, itu bukan tempat umum nyimpen barang lah, dan sebagainya..dan seterusnya. Kuping terpaksa deaf mode on! Tapi, Alhamdulillahnya makhluk yang bertitel fellow tidak ada di situ. Entah apa yang terjadi kalo beliau ikut nimbrung.

Pengen nangis!!! Bukannya apa2 ya, kalo cuma koper doang sih gapapa (maaf ya Ichan, itu kan koper dari rumahmu ketika budeyh panik blm dapet koper sebelum berangkat kemari..itu lho, yang kita rame-rame sama fadil, usamah, icha, liha, n mami begadang farewell sampe jam 3 pagi kayak mau pisah benua hehe..). Tapi, itu ada juga buku-buku. Yup, BUKU sodara-sodara!!

Itu capslock bukan tanpa tujuan. You know kan betapa saya mencintai buku dan buku. Most of them buku yang saya koleksi dari Kinokuniya or hasil hunting ke Singapore, dan itu sebagian hasil puasa beberapa minggu!

Hiks..tega banget siyyy!! Dan yang bikin esmosi itu orang-orang ofis kayaknya nyembunyiin sesuatu deh..pada bisik2 yang nggak jelas gituh sambil mata dikit2 juling. Ya Allah, pada punya perasaan keeekk!! Mereka kasi inpormasi apa kek biar daku ga su'udzon!!

Yasud, ini tandanya mereka ngajak perang! Sayah akhirnya memutuskan untuk rapat besar dengan keluarga ruqayyah dan memasang strategi bagaimana memenangkan perang ini.
Inilah kira-kira hasilnya (belum diedit hasil rapatnya...).

Wakil dari Djibouti..hadir 4 orang!
Dari Palestine..hadir, emang tinggal 1 orang!
Warga Indonesia..iya, sayah!
From Yaman dan Thailand...absen karena masih di kereta!
Anggota dari Algeria..masih belum kelar kerja part time di MUSE!
Tetangga dari Malaysia..katanya lagi nyuci sambil nyanyi-nyanyi di kamar mandi, diitung absen!

Nah, dari hasil rapat yang suguhannya tentu makanan Arab dan air sehat, akhirnya diputuskan untuk kembali nanya ke ofis hari senin. Dari ramalan yang akan terjadi, kira-kira akan seperti ini situasinya.
O iya, belum diputuskan sayah pake seragam apa dan bawa senjata apa. Tapi yang pasti bawa kamera dan recorder!

Yang udah capek baca silahkan senam-senam dan minum dulu, soalnya segmen berikut bakal berdarah-darah seru dan membosankan!

Oke..Siapp!!

Pagi-pagi sekali, jam 8.30 waktu IIUM (kalo waktu Jakarta ya 7.30AM), Saya (dan kalo pada ga ada kelas akan didampingi 1 orang Africa dan Palestine) akan datang ke ofis mahallah (jarak hanya 50 meter).
Kembali saya kudu tanya pasal koper itu ke kakak-kekak ofis. Even better kalo fellownya ada di situ.

Nah..nah, kalo mereka tetep keukeuh nggak mau ngaku kalo tau informasi soal koper saya. Ini yang akan terjadi..JRENGGGG!!!!

Saya   : "Kak, boleh tahu nama aka?" <- Intonasi sangat dingin dan kaku, mata lurus ke mata lawan bicara.
Ofis fellow   : (karena gatau bakal jawab apa, jadi pre-memory aja ya)

Saya   : "Saya tak nak paksa akak bagitau pasal beg saya tu. Saya cuma nak cakap..May Allah help you from this moment on, even from a nightmare! Hati-hati, tak ada yang tau apa bakal terjadi esok atau petang nanti!"
Ofis fellow   : (kalau dia garang, mungkin  balas menggertak atau marah)

Saya   : "Akak tak payah marah, saya cuma nak ingatkan akak..SEPERTI JUGA BEG SAYA TU, TAKDE YANG TANGGUNG APA BAKAL TERJADI DI MASA HADAPAN DENGAN KITA!! Selamat pagi, Have a nice day! Oya, anytime akak nak bagitau pasal beg saya tu, saya akan ada SETIAP PAGI tunggu kat depan OFIS ni!

Ofis fellow   : (Kemungkinan terbesar akan panggil security dan tendang kita keluar. Tapi saya dah siap dengan kamera dan hasil rekaman suara dia. Plus sepatu non heels supaya gampang lari).

Lalu, kita melangkah keluar dengan sikap COOL dan tampak garang. Mirip opening X-Men dan pelem-pelem tentara gitu deh...
Hmm, ada yang kurang nggak ya kira2? Kalo ada ide boleh kasi masukan ya!!

Okey, untuk sementara kita mau latihan itu dulu sampe hari senin pas waktu ACTION-nya! Itu scriptnya belum diputuskan dalam bahasa melayu ato inggris. Ntar pas latihan dicoba mana yang lebih garang.

Please sodara-sodara, ini bukan ajang being jagoan ato apa..ini soal memperjuangkan hak kita. Merdeka!

Bagi yang tidak bisa hadir hari senin di TKP, kami mohon do'anya!!

Sekian. See you soon, World!!
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June 15, 2011

I wanna be....

These couple of months i've been focusing my self to sharpen my goals. Especially my short term goals. Three years ago, i've already settled my long term goals. Those goals driven me here...to KL pursuing my study.

Well, i know many people out there also struggling like me. Try to find the right pathways to achieve the meaningful life:)

This morning, Mr. James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson shared this nice article to me. Great job, guys:)
Who knows, we will find a sparkle lights after reading this. Enjoy...The copyright strictly belongs to Mr. James M from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/Newsletters/14Jun11.htm.

BUILDING EXPERTISE

From the doctors who look after our health to successful engineers and effective leaders, expertise is all around us.

Many of us have some level of expertise - we couldn't do our jobs if we didn't! But how many of us can say that we're genuine experts in a given area?

Essentially, an expert is someone who is recognized as being an authority on a particular subject, or as having mastered a particular technique or skill. Experts achieve expert status through extensive education; through intensive research; or through prolonged, deliberate practice.

Why Build Expertise?

There are many benefits to being an expert in a particular field.

For instance, you'll be the go-to person when someone else needs help or advice. Your expert status can open doors to interesting work assignments; and it can lead to job promotions, speaking invitations, publishing opportunities, and a great reputation.

Being an expert in your field can also add purpose to your work, because you're in a position to help others in a really significant way. Whether it's a colleague who's stuck on a problem, or an entire industry that's floundering, your expertise can help others to overcome a challenge, and be more successful than they could otherwise be. This can be very rewarding!

Expertise also gives you expert power. This comes from the respect that team members have for your knowledge and judgment, and it means that they value your leadership. This respect and trust makes it easier to inspire your people, and to get everyone on board with new projects and ideas. Teams are more productive when they're working under a leader whose views they respect.

With expert knowledge, you'll also be more innovative in what you do, because you'll be able to spot opportunities. This can further enhance your success, and attract the material rewards that come with it.

How to Build Expertise?

There are three steps that you need to take to build expertise. These are:

  • Choosing your area of expertise.
  • Making time to become an expert.
  • Identifying the right opportunities to build your expertise, and then using them
1. Choose an Area to Develop

No matter what your career, chances are that you have a deep pool of skills that you use daily. So how do you decide which skills to develop?

Start by looking at the work that you're doing. What subject already interests you? Choose an area that you're passionate about. This will motivate you far more than studying a skill that you don't care about, or that you find difficult to master.

Next, look at the skills that your industry considers important. Do these interest you? Are there areas that are highly-valued, that you're already proficient in, and that you could develop further?

Also, look for knowledge gaps in your organization: areas that are under-served have the potential to make the biggest difference. So, don't overlook knowledge that your organization doesn't yet know that it needs.

If you work with clients, what skills or techniques do they value? How could a particular area of expertise help them succeed?

The trick to choosing an area of expertise is to focus on a niche. You need to be able to master your subject, so the broader the field you choose, the harder it will be to do this.

For instance, you might be tempted to become a programming expert. But programming is a diverse and complicated field. Instead, choose one programming language, like Java, or one type of software, such as Photoshop, and focus exclusively on that.

NOTE FOR ME: Keep in mind that building expertise takes time, but if you choose an area that you're familiar with, you'll have put some of this effort in already. This does take hard work and persistence: if being an expert was easy, then everyone would be an expert!

2. Scheduling Time

Next, it's important to make time to work on building your expertise.

For instance, you could focus on practicing or learning more about your chosen topic during your lunch break, or during your commute to and from work. Or, you could devote time to building expertise in the early mornings or evenings, or at the weekend.

It's important to make a commitment to put aside time regularly to build on your knowledge. A good way of doing this is to make building expertise part of personal goal setting.

You can take this further by crafting what you ultimately want to accomplish (and why) into a personal mission-statement. Using this will help you avoid distractions, and will keep you on track if you are discouraged along the way.

3. Build Your Knowledge

Once you've picked a particular field, skill, or technique to develop, and you have committed to spending time working to become an expert, it's time to start building your expertise:

  • Gather information about your chosen field. Find out everything you can about what you need to do to become an expert (and what it will take for others to see you as an expert). For instance, will you need a specific degree or certification? What credentials do other experts in your field have? And what credentials should you have for others to see you as a natural expert, rather than as a "wannabe"?
  • Take classes. You might not need to go as far as getting a degree, but formal classes can help you understand a difficult subject. Your employer may be willing to reimburse you for this training.
  • Actively seek out challenging assignments that will test your skills. Even if you make a mistake, you'll still learn valuable lessons, and be the better for the experience.
  • Join a local association. Industry-focused groups are often full of knowledgeable professionals, who have years of experience. You never know what you'll learn, or what connections you'll make, by joining one of these groups.
  • Use social networking sites like twitter to connect with other experts in your field. They can share advice and tips that will help grow your knowledge base. They can also recommend learning opportunities that you might otherwise miss. (LinkedIn also has a useful featured, called LinkedIn Groups. These are groups of professionals who connect around a specific industry. Joining a group specific to your industry or skill is a great way to share information with other experts.)
  • Find a mentor. Mentors can provide a wealth of knowledge because they've already gone down the path that you're on. They can share their hard-won expertise, and teach knowledge that often can't be found through theory alone. They can also broaden your network, and connect you with other experts, whose doors would have remained closed without a personal introduction.
  • Try to attend any relevant conferences. These not only allow you to learn cutting edge information about your industry, but you can also make valuable contacts, who may be able to help you move towards your goals.
  • Make an effort to keep up-to-date with news and trends in your industry.

The Expertise Trap

Some experts believe that their current knowledge and skill set will allow them to succeed in any similar task. However, this is a common "expertise trap."

For instance, imagine that you've just been promoted to a new leadership role. You assume that the approaches that you used in your last role will work just as well now, so you apply them to every situation, without giving this much thought. Quickly, your projects slow down as problems begin to appear... seemingly from out of nowhere.

The knowledge and skills that have made you successful in the past won't always be the right ones needed to solve future problems. Experts have to continue to learn, and must always be open to new possibilities.

So, don't use your expertise as a crutch when you move forward. Have the humility to realize that you don't know everything, and to keep your mind open to new ideas.


Key Points

An expert is someone who, through dedicated study and application, is widely recognized to be an authority on a given topic, skill or technique.

Being an expert has many benefits - it can lead to publishing or media appearances, enhance your reputation, and allow you to help others. It also helps you develop expert power, and can lead to promotions and high profile assignments; with the material rewards that naturally come with these.

To build expertise, set aside time in your schedule to work daily on your chosen subject. Join trade organizations, find a mentor, take classes and study on your own. The more you can learn and, most importantly, apply your new information, the more your expertise will develop.

A Final Note
Many of use already have some expertise in our areas of work, but taking your knowledge to the next level can really pay off, both in the short and the long term.

That's the article which i read this morning. It gave me a slight different point of view about what we should do with our goal in details. It might complete your missing-link or maybe you can find a whole new different points.

Bunch of thanks to the writers. I think i should ask if i can translate this article to Bahasa:)
Next i want to share with you about "The Sparks".

See you soon, world!!


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Distant Rain

Lovely morning, world!

Did I tell you about my Penang journey last week? NO? Oh, it must be slipped somewhere:)
That's the thing, I can't post you regularly coz of this connection issue. So, if you find me posting lots of "news" in a day or even in hours, definitely it comes from my saved stories.
Anyway, one exciting part of my Penang journey is that I found this Shaun Tan guy from one of the keynote speaker presentation.
The credit goes to Miss Myra Garces Bacsal, she is a Teacher Educator at National Institute of Education in Singapore. Her passion of talent development is awesome, i guess;) And her presentation titled Beyond Talents was so good, and her closing was stunning! She read Shaun Tan poem "Distant Rain" beautifully.

I've been told that Shaun Tan's books called Tales From Outer Suburbia and The Red Tree were remarkable!
I tried to find it at Kinokuniya here, but they don't have it (yet):(

But most reviews said that the drawings were amazing and all the stories told so innocent and creatively. Well, I am now a Shaun Tan fan!!
So this is one of the "poetic" story fromTales From Outer Suburbia is called Distant Rain:

"Have you ever wondered what happens to all the poems people write? The poems they never let anyone else read?
Perhaps they are to private and personal.
Perhaps they are just not good enough.
Perhaps the prospect of such heartfelt expression being seen as clumsy, shallow, silly, pretentious, saccharine, unoriginal, sentimental, overwrought, obscure, stupid, pointless or simply embarrassing is enough to give any aspiring poet good reason to hide their work from public view.
Forever.

Naturally many poems are immediately destroyed, burnt, shredded, and flushed away.
Occasionally they are folded into little squares and wedged under the corner of an unstable piece of furniture (so actually quite useful).
Others are hidden behind a loose brick or drainpipe or sealed into the back of an old alarm clock or put between the pages of an obscure book that will unlikely to ever be opened.
Someone might find them one day, but probably not.
The truth is that unread poetry will almost always be just that, doomed to join a vast, invisible river of waste that flows out of suburbia. Almost always.

One rare occasions, some especially insistent pieces of writing will escape into a back yard or a laneway, be blown along a roadside embankment and finally come o rest in a shopping centre car park as so many things do.
It is here that something quite remarkable takes place.
Two or more pieces of poetry drift towards each other through a strange force of attraction unknown to science and ever so slowly cling together to form a tiny, shapeless ball.
Left undisturbed this ball gradually becomes larger and rounder as other free verses, confessions, secrets, stray musings, wishes and unsent love letters attach themselves one by one.
Such a ball creeps through the streets like a tumbleweed for months, even years.
If it only comes out at night is has a good chance of surviving traffic and children and through as low rolling motion avoids snails (its number one predator).

At a certain size, it instinctively shelters from bad whether, unnoticed but otherwise roams the streets, searching for scraps of forgotten thought and feeling. Given time + luck the poetry ball becomes large, huge, and enormous: A vast accumulation of papery bits that ultimately takes to the air, levitating by sheer force of so much unspoken emotion.
It floats gently above suburban rooftops when everybody is asleep inspiring lonely dogs to bark in the middle of the night.

Sadly a big ball of paper no matter how large and buoyant is still a fragile thing.
Sooner or later it will be surprised by a sudden gust of wind, beaten by driving rain and reduced in a matter of minutes to a billion soggy shreds.

One morning everyone will wake up to find a pulpy mess covering front lawns, clogging up gutters and plastering car windscreens. Traffic will be delayed, children delighted, adults baffled unable to figure out where it all came from.
Stranger still will be the discovery that every lump of wet paper contains various faded words pressed accidental verse.
Barely visible but undeniably present.
To each reader they will whisper something different.
Something joyful, something sad, truthful, absurd, hilarious, profound and perfect, no one will be able to explain the strange feeling of weightlessness or the private smile that remains long after the street sweepers have come and gone."

Well, I hope you like it as much as I do!!
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My Life

This is my re-post status from my tumblr. Yup, that tumblr that i almost forget:)

No matter how harsh life can be nowadays, try not to complain. Do what you can do best, give what you have most and keep what your heart treasures.

Life is hard? Compare to what? You are still alive and enjoying every minute of it.

I know, somehow- moments like these will be missed- someday.
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