The singing bulbuls

Their chirp breaks the quiet dawn

I just realize that every morning I can hear heaps of bulbuls singing around my place in Tuban. They really draw my full attention. I could stand up behind my glass window doing nothing except observing them for couple minutes. They are really playful. Once, in the early morning, I notice them pecking on my red ripe tomato on my backyard. Well, I let them enjoy it. It’s nice to see them around...such a cheerful starting day with them.

Sunset and Oldies Songs

I really enjoy the reddish ray of light inside a comfortable room while listening to soft and beautiful melody of oldies song.

I used to have this experience when I was a little kid. Whenever I had this moment again, it always brings me back to that time I was with people I love. It was such a calm and warm atmosphere that I miss...

Transactional Analysis: I'm OK You're OK

(a book by Thomas A. Harris)
"I am a person. You are a person. Without you I am not a person, for only through you is language made possible and only through language is thought made possible, and only through thought is humanness made possible. You have made me important, Therefore, I am important and you are important. If I devalue you, I devalue myself." (Harris, 1969: page 223)

Wristwatch as a compass

If you have an analog wristwatch, then you can exactly define where the north direction is. Just be aware which hemisphere your standing position is when reading your watch.

(I have no idea how it works if you are in the equator, but I will ask my friend who lives in the 0-degree latitude to check it out)

In the northen hemisphere:
1. hold the watch horizontally
2. point the hour hand in the direction of the sun
3. bisect the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock mark to get the north-south line. North will be the direction which is further from the sun.

In the southern hemisphere:
1. hold the watch horizontally
2. point the 12 o'clock mark in the direction of the sun
3. bisect the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock mark to get the north-south line. North will be the direction which is closer to the sun.

Feliz Cumpleaños

Happy 24th Birthday dear my brother, Jinwei.
***Semoga sukses selalu dalam segala hal***

An old farewell song: Graduation Ceremony SD Cipta Dharma 1992

"I Remember Your Love"

Since you said "good bye", I sit alone and cry.
No one ever knew such pain.
I recall your face and miss your warm embrace.
My poor heart's going insane.

I remember your love, oh my darling my love.
I will never forget you it seems.
I remember your love, when the moon shines above.
I remember your love in my dreams.

My first public performance. I played the keyboard for the closing choir of this song.
A nice song taught by Bu Suan, our 2nd grade school teacher. However, I don’t know who composed the song; I can’t get any information from the internet about it.

Mental Attitude: Whether or Not Environment Affects?

This experience happened in Surabaya airport. I was just walking around on the waiting hall. But then, something was catching my eyes. A guy smoked in the non-smoking hall while having chitchat with his friends. It's was very clear that the sign of "No Smoking" was just above his head.

a situation @ Surabaya airport (29/4/08)

I was so disappointed and mad seeing such thing. Can't he read the No-Smoking sign? Or he just selfishly felt that, "I do whatever I wanna do", as there was no security officers around (the smoking guy was in the far end of the waiting hall. Well, maybe security officers in Surabaya airport were too lazy to patrol up to that corner end, and if they did, maybe they were too "reluctant" to warn the smoking guy there!)

You won't see any regular patrol by security officers along the hall, at least not as much as the one in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, China, and any other place. It seems that Surabaya airport does not need such patrol, as everything is just always under control...hmm!)

That just made me wondering, how we can change the attitude of such people to be more discipline. Not to mention the discipline of time (arghh..."Indonesian Time!" We do have that phrase, and I'm certainly NOT proud of it).

It is very difficult indeed. People with such moral, eventhough they are moved to a better environment, an environment with high environmental awareness people and strict regulation, they will just be the same individuals with such attitude. It is not easy to change their behaviour to follow the system eventhough they have been inside the system. Once they get 'chance' to do the same thing like what they comfortably used to do, they will intentionally or unintentionally do it over and over...littering, spitting, and smoking not in the proper place!

...yeah, yeah...that takes time...takes time for such changing to adjust with the better system...but for how long?
And yes, I have seen my own Indonesian colleagues (not only one colleague) who did that when we’re studying in Australia. And I felt sorry about that! I did tell them though, and they just smiled, and I didn't know whether they smiled because they were ashamed or because they were too bothered with my words.

Having said that the effect of the environment is less influential than the root of the moral of each individual, it doesn’t always seem to be true for every case. I remember my experience in front of the lobby of Sheraton Hotel Surabaya (18/4/08). A caucasian person with a local chick were entering a taxi. His cigarette was just recently lit. The cab was full AC, so he had to turn it off. But what happened?

He entered the cab while sucking deep his cigarette, opened the window and dumped his cigarette in front of the Sheraton staff. I was really sick off his attitude. I assumed that this "bule" (an Indonesian word to refer white people) had lived in Surabaya quite a while. At least he had experience seeing locals littering not in the proper place. But, why a bule must downgrade his moral to do such thing, particularly in an exclusive place like in the gate of Sheraton Hotel. Want to show off his power? That he is an expat? That he comes from developed country? That he is a dollar/euro holder so he can afford to stay in 5 stars hotel? or to look down Indonesian people knowing that in Indonesia, we don't have such a heavy fine due to littering like in the Singapore strict regulation???

As the taxi moved away from us, the valet parking staff picked up the cigarette and dumped it to the closest rubbish bin.

If only I were a Harry Potter (or a least I had my own wand), I would put him under my spell to stick the dumped cigarette back into his mouth for 24 hrs, so he can not talk and kiss that bitch!!!%#~*)$#%@#*

***
This indicates that environment can change people's attitude, moral, and behaviour too! How significant it affects people's attitude and moral? I guess, it depends on the characteristic of individuals. Therefore, keep your mind open!

Earth Day

They've killed the lizard

I was waiting for my driver to pick me up in the parking area of marine building. There were 2 staffs with me at that time. Suddenly, I saw a big lizard crossing the road at the next block. I just excitedly said: biawak!...while pointing at the lizard. Unexpectedly, the guy next to me, abruptly ran toward the lizard while yelling out loud at his friends: biawak…biawak!!!

The others enthusiastically followed him. The first guy who reached there aggressively attacked this lizard with stones. They caught the wounded lizard.

A monitor lizard “biawak” (Varanus sp.)
I’ve heard that marine crews here (not all of them though) eat anything that moves on land except vehicles! My 1st day in marine building, I’d seen them catching a cobra, about 2 m in length. They fried and ate it together. I’d been told that couple days before, they also caught a biawak and cooked it. Not only cobras and biawaks, they also slaughtered cats (as plenty of cats around marine building). It seems to be ordinary meat for them as their food resources.

But, what I’ve just seen just now was such a brutality. It was really disturbing me. I feel sorry! If only I didn’t tell them, the lizard might still be alive. The following day, the guy who cooked the lizard told me that it has 14 eggs inside the body. He fried all of those eggs and ate them with his friends!!! That made me really really bad!!! Not only one lizard could still be alive, but also her 14 offspring as well…if only I kept my mouth shut!

Lesson for me! Next time, I should not let them know if there’s any lizard or snake or other wildlife around. If necessary, I will distract their attention from any passing wild life around the marine building. At least, this can prevent their instinctive brutality, hopefully.

The cute one from Marine Building

There are about more than 20 cats around the Marine Building. But, this one is the cutest one and very tame to me. Well, a bit moody, naughty, spoiled, sometimes well behaved, sometimes rough...Yet, he is just a little felis >^-^<