I Hate Fogging!

The title itself is self-explanatory.

I do hate fogging. The smoke inevitably seeps in my room through small gaps above and under the door and windows. My room smells horrendous. My blanket, pillow, bolster, and bedcover do too. My saucepan, bowl, mug, spoon, and fork are contaminated. Even worse, my clothes--which are being dried--are literally SMOKED! Arghhh...

Wait... they always fog when my clothes are being dried! Oh, shit... I hate this...

I know... I know it's done as a precaution against dengue fever, malaria, or many other nasty maladies... but still... T_T

I guess it can't be helped after all... it's better to wear a horribly dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane-smelling clothes rather than having myself troubled with dengue fever, despite DDT possessing its own danger...

He Saves

I found this humor in the November 2007 issue of the Canticle, NTUCSA's bulletin. I think I can share it with you. I edited it though to add more spices onto it.

Oh, it's slightly religious in nature, so please bear with it.

Jesus and Satan were having an ongoing argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly, God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough."

"I am going to give you a test that will run for two hours. From the results, I will judge who does the better job!"

So, Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away. They moused. They faxed. They emailed. They emailed with attachments. They downloaded. They did spreadsheets. They wrote reports. They created labels and cards. They created charts and graphs. They did some genealogy reports. They did every job known to man. Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld. Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers.

Satan searched frantically, screaming, "IT'S ALL GONE!!! I lost everything when the power went out!!!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work. Satan observed this and became irate.

"Wait!" he screamed, "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any!?"

Seeing that Satan could not accept his loss, God said, "It is simple... he does something you do not."

Satan asked, "What? What's that supposed to be?"

God just shrugged and said again, "Jesus SAVES..."

Vocation

Hi there. I don't know why, but lately I've been slightly more insightful to these things commonly referred to as "values of life". If you see my recent posts, chances are you recognized their reflective and spiritual nature, also as indicated by the tags "Spiritual", "Life", and "Friendship".

Now, to the main course of this post...

Yesterday (and this morning) I attended the Mass of the 4th Sunday of Easter. Fr. Michal Gitner, one of my favorite priests, elaborated on the homily the importance of this special work--or should I say in more appropriate word, commitment--called vocation.

What is this vocation? What makes it singular, or distinctive, relative to that usual work?

According to the Encarta Dictionary, vocation can be comprehended in two senses:

1. somebody's work, job, or profession, especially a type of job demanding special commitment

2. a strong feeling of being destined or called to undertake a specific type of work, especially a sense of being chosen by God for religious work or a religious life

What the dictionary says is of no difference from what Fr. Michal opined during both Masses. From how he elucidated his views, one could observe that he is outright serious in taking his vocation. He also told us how his family deeply influenced his spiritual life... that made each and every attendant--who, at the moment, was able to visualize or take a glimpse on his family--believe that he came from a faith-affluent family. This holds true, after all.

Fr. Michal seemed to be very proud of his family. He described them as being "down-to-earth faithful", and how they ignited sparks of religious life within him. He recalled, "... I remember every 4.05 in the evening, my family would kneel and pray. They are not fanatical, no; they simply practice Catholic faith..." That's what vocation is, the nearly 50-years-old priest said: to immerse yourself in commitment and to take what you do seriously. "To be a priest... that's also a vocation. So is to live a married life... and to be single," he said. As a trivia, he also expressed how he revels in spending his holiday with his parents and sister.

Now, we should refer back to the fundamental sense of vocation: to be extremely committed to carry out our activities. When we put it that way, we can associate almost everything with vocation. Take our responsibility as students, for instance. Most probably, only a handful of us realize that this particular case can actually be considered a vocation. Many fail to understand the very basic meaning of the process of learning itself, since they have shifted orientation into "taking education for granted". Some are committed, but it is not as an endeavor to seek for the paramount. And if one is claimed by others to be steadfast to be able to sprout the best flower, not for failing to see their true significance... glad are they.

Why is it that this process can be considered a vocation? Well, simply because it requires a fervent commitment, continuously from time to time. You may ask, "Big deal. What happens if we do have that commitment?" It is rhetorical, isn't it? Let us instead elaborate on what does not happen with that commitment; or maybe, for sake of common sense, what happens if we do not have that commitment. All of us must have heard various cases of people dropping out their education, deviating from their purposes of studying, or even getting themselves reeled in a string of educational concerns. These three horrendous cases are but a tiny wee bit of all plausible consequences of not having the aforementioned commitment. Take this process of learning seriously and selflessly, and chances are we have the right to thrive and blossom. As we immerse ourselves in the progress, we gradually pick up all those cognizance offered by the spring of wisdom itself, which, in turn, aids us in developing our acumen and broadening our horizon.

The instance of learning above was just one of the many cases we can consider a vocation. Now, why don't we try to reflect on our own commitment, and find out if it is apt enough to be taken into account as our own present vocation.

God bless all of us =)

Wheel of Life

Hari ini aku melewati quiz anatomy & physiology.

Dalam mengerjakan soalnya, aku salah antara 15 - 20 soal dari 50 soal. Sementara aku berpikir, "Itu karena aku kurang belajar." Kemudian aku berpikir. Mereka yang biasanya mendapat nilai yang bagus. Mereka yang jauh superior di atasku. Beban yang mereka pikul sangat berat. Beban psikologis. Beban emosional. Pikiran-pikiran yang mengganggu, "Mau ke mana kamu jika nilaimu jatuh? Di mana akan kamu sembunyikan mukamu?"

Aku memang bukan tipe orang yang terlalu peduli akan nilai. Terus terang, aku termasuk orang yang puas dengan hasil yang termasuk pas-pasan. Aku tahu bahwa itu tidak baik untukku. Namun, dari sini, aku melihat sisi lain dari sebuah perjuangan... bagaimana seseorang (katakanlah, orang itu adalah kamu) harus menyokong nilainya yang sudah bagus itu? Kamu harus berjuang dengan segenap tenaga, bukan? Sebab, dengan nilai yang bagus itu, kemungkinan untuk menjadi lebih baik jauh lebih kecil dibandingkan dengan kemungkinan untuk tergusur ke tempat yang menurutmu lebih tidak layak, atau dengan sangat kasar kita bisa mengatakan bahwa "orang-orang yang nilainya bagus tidak bisa ke mana-mana lagi selain turun". Dan itulah akibatnya jika mereka tidak berjuang untuk mempertahankan nilainya.

Namun, seperti seorang teman katakan kepadaku, sebagaimana roda terus berputar, kehidupan pun berputar. Ada kalanya kita menikmati angin segar di atas roda, ada kalanya kita terhimpit di bawah roda. Hidup adalah kumpulan dari berbagai macam siklus. Dengan merasakan bagaimana sakitnya terhimpit roda tersebut, kita berusaha untuk menjadi lebih baik lagi. Sebagaimana pensil harus selalu diraut agar tetap runcing dan besi harus ditempa agar keras, sesekali manusia pun harus dipaparkan kepada pengalaman pahit untuk mencapai pengalaman baik. "No pain, no gain," ujar sebuah pepatah. Positif dan negatif yang bagaikan antimateri satu sama lain itu sangat penting; sebagai contoh, jika tidak ada "kesalahan", maka kita tidak akan pernah mengetahui "kebenaran".

Appreciativeness

Thanks to them, I have the opportunity to...

Be acquainted to many people,
Join many commitments,
Be motivated to study,
Express my problems,
Correct my mistakes,
Recognize my weaknesses,
Learn about life,
Elaborate my thoughts,
Share laughters and tears.

I wonder, if they would...

Console me when I'm woeful?
Rejoice with me when I'm cheerful?
Be proud of me when I get to the top?
Uplift me when I flop?
Support me when I'm veracious?
Forgive me when I'm erroneous?
Play with me when I'm well?
Visit me when I'm ill?
Cheer at my living?
Weep over my passing?

Later today,
In the silence of the dusk,
In the shadow of the dark,
In the depth of the night,
In the absence of the light,
Let me use some time to pray,
So that our friendship may never stray.

Especially dedicated to them:
A*****o (7 letters), "brother"
Y*****a (7 letters), "sister"
M****a (6 letters)
Y******n (8 letters)
M***a (5 letters)
D*****e (7 letters)
S*****n (7 letters)
K***n (5 letters)
R***y (5 letters)

A Morning Reflection

Hmm... mau sedikit berbagi pengalaman unik aja...

Semalem, gw tidur antara jam 1.05 - 1.14, soalnya post terakhir gw di milis GL itu jam 1.05, dan pas bangun terus ngecek milis, post berikutnya itu time stampnya jam 1.14, dari Eddyman. Di dalem doa tidur gw, gw bilang ke Tuhan, kalo besok (hari ini) gw mau belajar di library dan gw minta tolong dibangunin jam 7 ato sebelum jam 7. Di dalem doa gw juga ada format doa seperti biasa: makasih atas berkat, minta perlindungan sepanjang malem, doa untuk keluarga, doa untuk sahabat-sahabat, dan minta supaya persahabatan gw ama orang yang gw lagi ada masalah itu diperbaiki lagi.

Nah... yang menarik di sini, adalah ternyata gw bangun dengan seger jam setengah 6 pagi. Waaahhh... ga pernah ya seumur-umur, di Singapur, gw tidur cuma 5 jam dan bangun dengan seger... tanpa alarm... gw pasang alarm jam setengah 7 pagi untuk bantuin gw bangun ternyata malah bangun lebih pagi... kali ini gw bangun sebelum alarm bunyi, bukan alarm bunyi sebelum gw tidur (baca: gw baru tidur setelah alarm bunyi gara-gara malemnya begadang) =P

*paragraf berikutnya bakalan void kalo dicoba dimengerti pake science... jadi tolong semua pikiran tentang science--terutama psikologi ama fisiologi--mengenai tidur, mimpi, dan bangun dikesampingkan dulu... karena beberapa hal lebih baik dibiarkan tidak diketahui (gw suka kata-kata itu) =)*

Gw jadi berefleksi... kalo kita minta sesuatu ke Tuhan dalam doa, Dia ternyata pasti mendengar kita. Dan permintaan itu bakalan dikabulkan, bahkan terkadang jawaban dari permintaan kita itu bakalan dateng IN ABUNDANCE, tapi ternyata kita gagal untuk menyadari. Dan pagi ini... gw menganggap gw sendiri cukup beruntung untuk bisa mengalami sendiri bahwa Tuhan ternyata bersedia ngasih kita lebih dari yang kita harapkan dari Dia... dalam hal ini, gw diperbolehin bangun jam setengah 6 pagi. Wowww... dan ternyata setelah gw pikir-pikir, ada banyak hal lagi yang ga kita sadari, misalkan: [1) Kita cuma perlu oksigen untuk napas (bernapas di lingkungan pure oxygen itu ga masalah), dan Tuhan udah ngasih kita udara yang mengandung nitrogen, oksigen, dan gas-gas laen untuk dihirup... oleh semua makhluk: kita, binatang, tumbuhan, bakteri, dan microscopics laennya. 2) Kita perlu lingkungan untuk hidup, dan Tuhan udah ngasih kita alam di sekitar kita ini untuk kita olah. 3) Kita cuma perlu sekedar api untuk menerangi kegelapan, berlindung dari dinginnya malem, ama sumber energi, dan Tuhan udah ngasih kita Matahari untuk melakukan lebih dari itu.] 3 contoh ini cuma sebagian kecil dari kebutuhan kita yang dijawab in abundance... dan gw jadi inget lirik lagunya Marty Haugen, Canticle of the Sun, yang dibuat berdasarkan puisinya St. Francis of Assisi (St. Fransiskus Assisi)... terutama bagian versenya.

Refrain:

The heavens are telling the glory of God
And all creation is shouting for joy
Come, dance in the forest, come, play in the field
And sing, sing to the glory of the Lord

Verses:

1. Praise for the Sun, the bringer of day
He carries the light of the Lord in his rays
The moon and the stars, who light up the way unto Your throne

2. Praise for the wind that blows through the trees
The seas' mighty storms, the gentlest breeze
...

3. Praise for the rain that waters our fields ...

4/5/6. Praise for the fire / earth / death ...

Intinya, lagu ini berisi ungkapan terima kasih seorang St. Francis of Assisi pada semua ciptaan Tuhan, meskipun ga selengkap puisi yang dia bikin. Kalo di puisinya, dia menganggap bahwa semua ciptaan itu sebagai sodara-sodaranya... bahkan, yang paling menarik, dia menganggap kematian itu sebagai "Sister Death". Kadang-kadang ini bikin gw merinding, bukan karena ngeri, tapi karena takjub... gimana bahkan St. Francis bener-bener memuji dan bersyukur atas the very Death herself... di mana orang laen pada takut dengan kehadirannya. Tapi gw ga akan bahas itu di sini; mungkin laen kali aja kalo kita punya waktu untuk song reflection laennya =)

Back to topic... dan begitu gw bangun, gw berdoa lagi untuk berterima kasih... bahwa gw udah dibangunin lebih pagi dari yang gw harapkan... dan gw juga minta berkat untuk gw, keluarga, ama sahabat-sahabat untuk melakukan aktivitas di hari ini... ga lupa gw berdoa juga untuk masalah yang lagi gw alami (sejak Minggu kemaren, gw selalu menyertakan masalah itu di dalem doa).

Jadi... yah, cobalah untuk ngeliat apa yang udah Dia berikan untuk kita... siapa tahu, Dia ternyata udah mengirim jawaban untuk permasalahan kita di sekitar kita dengan jumlah yang banyak... tapi kitanya aja yang ga nyadar... semoga pengalaman ini bikin gw lebih aware dengan keadaan sekitar kita dan apa yang ada di dalemnya.

Selamat pagi dunia! Sambutlah sinar emas Matahari dengan senyum! God bless you all! ^.^

A Quote

"In friendship one cannot expect everything to be filled with laughter; sometimes it is the tears that strengthen the bond itself."

~ Randy Williams Hidayat

Thank you Randy for telling me these words...