Thoughts, Dreams, and Emotions…
It's complicated ^.^
“Happy Mother’s Day” means more
Than have a happy day.
Within those words lie lots of things
We never get to say.
It means I love you first of all,
Then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I honor you.
But most of all, I guess it means
That I am thinking of
Your happiness on this, your day,
With pleasure and with love
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom..
I love you!
Bomb Again!!!!! Totally Grieved
This news I copied from Kompas. The news which makes me shakes in cries. Again.., in my country, another persecution. Again in my country, when people said that this time is the better president. Again in my country, another one!!!
“…Teror tak habis-habisnya menghantui Palu, Sulawesi Tengah. Minggu (12/12) malam dua gereja menjadi sasaran peledakan bom dan penembakan. Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah Immanuel di Jalan Masjid Raya dibom, sedangkan Gereja Anugerah Masomba di Jalan Tanjung Manimbaya diberondong tembakan. Kedua peristiwa itu terjadi bersamaan sekitar pukul 19.05.
Akibat dua kejadian itu, tiga orang mengalami luka-luka. Korban adalah Binti Jaya (61), anggota satpam Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah (GKST) Immanuel yang terkena serpihan bom, sampai semalam masih dirawat di Ruang ICU Rumah Sakit (RS) Bala Keselamatan.
Dua korban lainnya adalah Rada Krisna (38) dan Nofri (18) yang terkena tembakan di Gereja Anugerah Masomba. Keduanya dirawat di RS Undata.
Selain itu, ada beberapa anggota jemaat yang dirawat akibat shock, antara lain Arni dan Vina, anggota jemaat GKST Immanuel; dan Estevin, anggota jemaat Gereja Anugerah Masomba. Hingga saat ini belum diketahui siapa pelaku kedua peristiwa tersebut.
Berdasarkan informasi yang dihimpun Kompas sampai Minggu malam, dua peristiwa itu sangat mengguncang Palu. Apalagi di saat itu kedua gereja tengah dipadati jemaat yang sedang melakukan kebaktian.
Di GKST Immanuel saat itu diperkirakan ada 500 anggota jemaat, sedangkan di Gereja Anugerah Masomba, meski lebih kecil, juga dipadati jemaat.
Saat kebaktian di GKST Immanuel yang dipimpin Pendeta Erna Lagerence tengah berlangsung, sekitar pukul 19.05, tiba-tiba terdengar ledakan yang keras. Suara ledakan bahkan terdengar sampai radius satu kilometer.
Akibat ledakan tersebut, bagian depan gereja yang tengah diperbaiki rusak. Pintu utama gereja jebol, plafon ambrol, dan kaca-kaca pecah.
Jemaat yang tengah beribadah langsung panik begitu mendengar dentuman keras. Mereka berhamburan keluar gereja dan tidak menghiraukan lagi barang-barang bawaan mereka. Sandal-sandal tercecer di dalam gereja.
Dari sejumlah informasi, bom yang meledak itu tepat di dekat pintu utama. Diduga bom dimasukkan ke dalam bungkusan plastik. Namun, masih belum jelas apakah bungkusan itu diletakkan di dekat pintu atau dilempar dari luar.
Hanya berselang dalam hitungan detik, ratusan anggota jemaat di Gereja Anugerah Masomba di Jalan Tanjung Manimbaya, Kelurahan Tatura, Kecamatan Palu Selatan, dikejutkan oleh bunyi rentetan tembakan. Dua orang yang berada di barisan paling belakang terkapar terkena tembakan.
Rada Krisna terkena serempetan peluru di lengan kiri atas, sementara Nofri terserempet di kepala bagian belakang. Keduanya dilarikan ke RS Undata. Menurut Rada, sedikitnya terdengar lima kali rentetan tembakan. Di lokasi ditemukan sembilan selongsong peluru kaliber 5,56 mm…”
I am really really grieving…! I couldn’t understand what is in those terrorist’s mind. They are not human. And I spontaneously cried and speechless when I read the headline on my morning newspaper, Kompas, on December 13th, 2004. Again.. I read another persecution. And, just because the victim is churches, which is a very minority in Indonesia, seems that the publication is reduced. Grrr.. everybody seems wants to close their ears about this. It’s not fair! This is not fair!
I don’t understand, why must some people killing each other? Why some people so stupid thinking that killing another people is a good thing to do?? Why there are teachings says that killing is the way to act in life? I don’t understand, why some people really loves to kill? Why can’t we live in peace in one peace world with different types?? This is just so unfair :(
Killing others.. that’s just alike no human at all. Killing others are an essential terminlogy just for beasts and animals who didn’t have mind to think clearly.
We live in a God-rejecting, unbelieving, and hate-filled world. Believers have long been ridiculed and persecuted. The world would be quite satisfied to get rid of all reminders of God, and for many, that includes getting rid of the people who believe in God and seek to do his will. The very fact that someone obeys God is a condemnation of everything and everyone that is not godly. It is a gross fallacy to think that being a Christian is somehow being a wimp. It takes real courage and inner strength to reject the pleasures and temptations of the world for the things of God. It takes courage to stand up to ridicule, persecution, and worse.
Prayers help us explore the uncomfortable. God provides therapy through the Bible. As we pray, it will take us into emotional geography that we might otherwise avoid, and lead us to process painful feelings we might otherwise just stuff down inside. By praying we vent and lay our stuff honestly at His feet.
All I can do now just pray. Pray for our enemies, pray for the terrorists. I can’t hate because hate is just a part of those terrorists which leading to all negative acts and reacts.
Pray and wishing a peaceful earth.. When is it?
Remember the picture on the left? Feel familiar? Yup! It is one of the Indonesian film titled “ARISAN!“. This film had been in the cinemas started from December 10th, 2003 until 2-3 weeks after that. And then available on the VCD and DVD. Great movie I said.
It’s ARISAN!, a film directed by a young talented woman named Nia Dinata.
Now, why I talked about something had passed a year ago? Because last night was the FFI (Festival Film Indonesia) 2004. And Arisan! had been chosen as the BEST MOVIE Award. Cool!
Arisan! is about friendship and principles are put to a test in the circle of Jakarta’s social elite which can be as turbulent as the city’s slums. The lives of several upperclass, thirty-something Jakartans are boldly revealed for the first time in Indonesian cinema, following the career and social life of three life-long friends who seem to have conquered the metropolitan. Unfortunately, the truth is not exactly as pretty as the impression.
Exiting times in Indonesia! When the film released, everyone’s eyes were at is “Arisan!“.
Three bestfriends live a normal life, that is, at first look. After a while we see them strugle with unhappiness in different forms. Meimei (Cut Mini Theo) hears from her doctor that she won’t be able to become pregnant and sees her husband run away. Andien (Aida Nurmala)’s husband slept with someone else, and Sakti (Tora Sudiro) -who is gay- is afraid that his mother or best friend Meimei might find out that he is.
Well, she finds out, but in a way he never imagined she would.
This film is the first BIG HIT in Indonesia where it is all about ‘coming out’. Sakti and Nino (Surya Saputra) learn that in modern Indonesia, being gay is as normal as in other countries (far from the reality, but common in some areas of Indonesia).
Screaming girls in the cinema when Sakti and Nino first kiss. No sensor in Indonesia, and that was surprising!!
Over all, this film is not only good because it doesn’t show any stereo type Indonesian gays (mostly transsexuals or overacting feminate gays), but two people like everyone else. It is also a film technically quite good, although the editing could have been better.
Two thumbs up for Arisan! 
And yay.. BRAVO INDONESIAN FILMS!
As I sit down to write tonight I am thinking about family. I am thinking especially about my own immediate family. I’ve got a new family. A new virtual family but a lot like a real family. The family’s name is BloggerFamily. Founded by Maknyak on December 2003. That was last year! Day by day in a year we built a very strong relationship, really like family-thing. We got joy, we got sad, we got all the things to share.
As I think about the distance between us, I am thankful that though we are physically separated by many miles, spiritually we are forever tied together. We are a family.
In its narrowest sense, family refers to those people with whom you share DNA. Telltale signs of your closest biological ties might be such things as large ears, dimples, or hairline. But most of us speak of family at the more abstract level the soldier had in mind as well a team, a club, a company, a political party, the citizens of a city, state, or country.
It isn’t biology alone that defines the circle of those we love or the people with whom we share daily routines. We define ourselves positively by choosing to protect the welfare and interests of others.
Families face a tremendous challenge today. With all the pressures, distractions, and obstacles in our path, how are we to remain close and keep the family alive, but healthy? Do we have what it takes for a family to remain together when schedules attempt to pull them apart?
It takes determination for a family to continue to stay in touch when jobs, school, recreation, and relationships try to pull them apart. It takes a real commitment for a family to remain close when everything around tries to tear it apart. It takes a dependence on God for a family to survive the attacks being launched by the enemy of the family. It will not just happen.
Let me assure you that our family is no different than any other. There are times we seem to be miles apart when we are all in the same room. There are times we act as though we have never heard the word “communicate” much less want to do it. There are times when it seems that to express our feelings is the most difficult thing in the world. There are times when it seems that no one wants us to express our feelings. Then, there are times when it seems that we all want to express our feelings at the same time and that “my” feelings are all that matters.
There are times when we cannot wait to be together. Then, there are times we cannot wait to be apart. There are times we cannot wait to share the latest news. Then, there are times we are determined not to share anything. There are times when there is no other person on the universe we’d rather be with than our family. Then, there are times when we would prefer to be with anybody in the universe rather than our family. There are times when we ache to be together. Then, there are times that being together makes us ache.
That is family. We love each other. We encourage each other. We hurt each other. We long for each other. We misunderstand each other. We want what’s best for each other. We try to understand each other. We would die for each other.
Here are four suggestions on keeping your family healthy:
Tonight I’m thinking about family. I am thinking about my family. I am thinking of our family. I love my family. I am thankful that God chose to give us families.
Take a minute to look around you now. See team and club, company and parties. Then determine anew to honor your place in “the family.”
It’s BloggerFamily!
Welcome to the family!
Today it’s BloggerFamily‘s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
On November 30th, 2004, I read Kidy‘s posting in his blog. He posted about Lion Air crashed at Solo and Bouraq‘s accident at Makassar. At that time, I browsed to Detik News to read full articles about the crash. I didn’t notice in that day about news on TV because I was so busy at the clinic and that day was so hectic.
When I browsed to Detik News, one of the articles mentioned the name of the victim on that tragedy. I read one by one, if there’s any name that I knew. And I found one! One name.. Frans Natanieliem.
At first I was shocked, but I thought, the name might be same but maybe not the same person as I thought.
On December 1st, yesterday, me and my friends were talked and discussed about this Lion Air tragedy. I told them my anxiety about one of the victim’s name, might be someone I knew.
Today, December 2nd. One of my friends, Helvine, asked me what is the name which I talked about. I answered, “Frans Natanieliem”. She replied, “Where did he live?” I said, “On Veteran street, but he got relatives also stayed at Dr. Sutomo street, where we used to rent some comic books.” Then she told me that the name might be the same person as I thought, because last night she was passing-by the street and she saw some banners and flowers in front of the house.
Aaargh! Now I am shocked!
Frans Natanieliem is a great brother of my bestfriends when I was in junior high school until now. I.. I.. Hmm now I’m wordless. I can’t think more words. My friends name, Monanita and Monalisa Natanieliem. They’re twin. I pray, wishing Monanita-Monalisa and family given a really big heart for this tragedy. May the Holy Spirit encourage them. Can’t type more words.. I’m totally wordless.
Here’s a picture when I was in junior high school, my picture with (from left to right) Monalisa, Monanita, Lia and Siska (Siska passed away on year 2000 because of leukemia):
Here’s the last photo with Monalisa Natanieliem, taken on 2001 at Mal Taman Anggrek, Jakarta:
This tragedy also reminds me that I am not the controller of my own life. I’m not the pilot of my own life.
Life is short and fragile. Life is a gift of grace. It must be maximized and used to its utmost. Being reminded that all of us will die and give an account for how we lived our lives is not often welcome, but it is essential.
Each of us will one day be the main attraction at a funeral. People will say nice things about us, shed a few tears, haul us to a cemetery, stick us in a hole, throw dirt in our face, and then go back to the church building and eat chicken.
That’s not meant to be irreverent or cold. It’s just the simple truth.
Life will go on even though we are gone. The impact of our days on earth will be measured in how we have utilized the life we’ve been given.
Being reminded of this for a few moments by the passing procession is a healthy thing in a culture that avoids thinking about death at all costs. Each of us needs to pause and remember our own mortality from time to time.
As I’ve learned in the World Trade Center tragedy, Bali tragedy, place crash’s tragedy, every person who dies has a story, a family, a void that no one else can fill. Let’s not forget. Let’s not rush past. Let’s show a little respect.
New research proves that second-hand smoke is linked to increased risk of premature death, heart disease, ill health in children, and the slow healing of wounds.
Scientists say non-smokers who live with a smoker have a 15 percent higher risk of early death than those living in smoke-free households.
Passive smoking also damages the chemical makeup of cells needed to heal wounds and accounts for abnormal scarring in second-hand smokers.
Children of parents who smoke face double the risk of certain diseases compared to children of non-smokers, even if the smoker only lights up outdoors. If indoors, the risk is 15 times higher.
Source: www.chinaview.cn
WHO Drops the World’s Last SARS Hotspot, Taiwan, From the List of Infected Areas Worldwide
The World Health Organization scratched the last name off its worldwide list of SARS hotspots Saturday, declaring that Taiwan had contained the virus at last.
The announcement means that the SARS virus has finally been subdued after infecting at least 8,400 people and killing 812, mostly in Asia but also in Africa and Canada since it surfaced late last year.
“Today is a milestone,” WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland said at the group’s headquarters in Geneva.
She warned that severe acute respiratory syndrome could spread again if countries aren’t careful. There are still close to 200 cases in hospitals around the world.
“It is possible that SARS cases have slipped through the surveillance net, and we know that one single case can spark a new outbreak,” she added.
Territories affected by SARS had to report no new cases for 20 days to get off the list, and Taiwan’s countdown began on June 15. The government watched as China, Hong Kong, and Toronto crossed off in recent days.
Taiwanese Premier Yu Shui-Kun told reporters he was “extremely happy” with the news. “We can finally return to our normal lives,” he said.
The mysterious illness was believed to have originated in southern China, where the first known cases appeared last November. From China, experts believe it jumped to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.
Initially, Taiwan fended off the virus, and officials said they had whipped it even as the death toll rose in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
But in late April, the virus exploited weaknesses at Taiwanese hospitals, failing to diagnose and isolate infected patients properly. SARS quickly spread in Taipei’s capital, and the deaths began accumulating.
Taiwan eventually became the world’s No. 3 SARS hotspot, reporting 84 deaths and 682 infections. But it trailed far behind mainland China, which had 348 deaths, and Hong Kong, with 298 deaths.
Dr. David Heymann, WHO’s executive director of communicable diseases, backed up Brundtland’s warning. “A false sense of security could become our worst enemy,” he said.
Taiwanese have been making travel plans again and stripping off surgical masks they were required to wear on subways during the outbreak’s peak.
Mary Wei, a Taipei housewife, said she canceled plans to visit Seattle in May because her friends in America asked her not to come because of SARS fears. But now she’s planning to take her U.S. trip next week.
“I didn’t blame them. People were scared of us,” she said.
Source: ABCnews.com