Warthog

Random observation on the word "Warthog", inspired by "Hakuna Matata" the song from the movie Lion King.

For the longest time, I've always pronounced the word "Warthog" as "war" + "thog", and then as I was listening to "Hakuna Matata" today, I realized that I was wrong.  It's pronounced (at least in the song and in the movie "Mean Girls", which I just watched the rerun on TV yesterday as I was ironing 3 batches of laundry) "wart" + "hog".

Pronounced "War" + "Thog", the word has a cool Nordic warrior kind of feel to it.  I guess "Thog" sounds like "Thor", so I imagined a viking warthog with viking helmet, holding spears running down the coast from a viking ship, charging against an unseen enemy with thunders in the background. (Thor is the god of thunder (?) I think in Nordic mythology).

However, pronounced "Wart" + "Hog", the word has a completely different feel to it.  A pig that's full of warts?  Yikes.

If I were a warthog, I would insist that the word be pronounced the former.  If you're a pig with warts, you should at least not be called wart hog. :P

Cheers,
G

Mall Cops

I just watched Mall Cops last night, Kevin James' latest movie.  It's funny, and the X-gamers stunts are kind of cool especially the free runners.  But the movie overall is not as funny as I thought it would be.  I have high expectation for Kevin James as an actor/writer and Adam Sandler as a producer.

What I found really interesting is that the DVD extras are so much better than the actual movie!  The behind-the-scenes of the X-gamers are cooler, because you actually get to see their stunts clearer than if you watch the movie.  And the mini clips and interviews are often funnier than the actual movie!  Seems like it's more fun watching Kevin James and the gang making the movie rather than watching the actual movie. :D

So, after spending 90 minutes or so watching the actual movie, I spent an extra hour watching the extras.  All of the extras. And the extra hour is so much better than the 90 minutes. :P

So there ya go, a somewhat upside down movie (in my opinion at least).  The extras are better than the actual movie. :D

Nevertheless, it was a good way to spend a chilly Michigan summer night. :D

Cheers, G.

On why we love

One phrase that comes to mind this morning, and one that I particularly like is:

"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you"

This is from a song "We have been told" by David Haas.

It's what Jesus said to us, but I think it can also be the answer to the questions of why we do many of the acts of love that we do, even though they might not be easy.

When asking myself why to the following:
- Why do I forgive?
- Why do I try to be understanding to others?
- Why do I hold my anger and control my temper?
- Why do I want to spend my time doing the ministries in Church?
- Why do I try (so hard) to accept and love just as they are?

In my journey, I found that these are the hardest things to do and yet nobody's going to recognize you or reward you for your tiny steps of successes.  The moment when you are tested will come unexpectedly, and when you pass, there will be no fanfare to celebrate it.  When you do your homework or complete a test, at least you get a grade.

They are the quiet things in life that most of the time goes unnoticed even by the person that you are trying to love, and yet they are so hard that sometimes I wonder why I even bother trying. 

When I thought about it last night, that phrase comes to mind.  Yes, nobody will ever reward us for loving.  Nobody will keep score and let us know when we won the game.  We might never know if anybody even notices our effort.  But because the Father have loved us, and we have known His love, it is no longer about us and the person that we are trying to love.  But it's about giving love that is so freely and abundantly given to us, and about hoping that maybe, just maybe, they can feel how beautiful Father's love is through our action.

By His grace, I am no longer loving with my love, but with the Father's love through me.

We are no longer dependent on our beloved, waiting for their approval and return of love to fill our heart back.  We are free to love, regardless of whether they choose to love us back. 

Maybe this is how unconditional love is possible, and how one more step is taken towards becoming the image of Christ in this world.

~ G

Gali lubang tutup lubang

"Gali lubang tutup lubang" is an Indonesian phrase that refers to a person who is constantly in debt, taking a new debt to pay off another debt.  The literal translation is dig a hole to close a hole.

Well, that's what I did yesterday!  The literal meaning, thank goodness. :)  For the first time in a long long time (since my bean sprout Biology experiment back in 3rd grade) I am gardening!

I've always thought of myself as having brown thumbs (I do have brown skin) since my pointsettia and cactus (cactus!!!  The hardiest plant that requires no care whatsoever!!) died a few years ago.

The fact that my 2 attempts at caring for phalaenopsis orchids failed didn't bolster my confidence.

The one ray of hope is my purple plant that is still alive since December 2005.  But then again, that's the kind of plant that could look all brown and shriveled, but with the slightest hint of water, perk up and look all fresh again. :)

So I thought, one of these days, I need to pick up gardening, or I'll be surrounded by weeds, wildflowers and dandelions.

Well, yesterday's my attempt at gardening.  It definitely helps to actually have a garden (that's set up really nice by the home's previous previous owner).  It helps a lot to have a fiance who's working around the garden, mowing, weeding, fertilizing and mulching along while I was working on my garden.  Also, to have a row of lily plants and clemantis on my condo that pretty much grows year after year with absolutely no care at all.  That's a confidence bolster, if they can stay alive on their own, they should fare much better with some care, shouldn't they?  Oh, and the tipping point, the next door neighbor's a gardening guru, so I can talk to her with my gardening questions, which so far consisted of:  When can I plant my bulbs?

So, mark yesterday's date.  I planted 18 bulbs of Stargazer Lily on the backyard.  I literally dig a hole, (and dig again because I dug it 4 inches deep, and it's supposed to be 6 inches deep), and close the hole, and repeated it 18 times.  Met a bunch of worms, said hi to my Lily bulbs, begged it to grow, and mixed a heap of soil with top soil and… (eww) manure.  (Don't worry, the manure doesn't smell at all).

It was back breaking, but now I have a heap of dirt with 18 Lily bulbs underneath it.  Today or tomorrow, I will plant 8 more bulbs, and then off to watering and fertilizing.

If you happen to pass by around June or August, check out my heap of dirt!  It should have 18 pink Stargazer Lilies bobbing their heads to you (in August), or 8 multi-colored Asiatic Lilies waking up from their slumber (in June).

That is, if I've done everything right!! :D  Cross your fingers. :)

~ Greenish brown thumb G

PS: Why lilies?  Well, supposedly they're hardy, easy to maintain and pretty much can grow on their own as shown by my row of yellow lilies.  In short, brown-thumb-proof flowers.

Nice quote

A quote that I particularly like and would like to record on my blog:

"He told me that I had a soul, how does he know?" - Jean Valjean, Les Miserables

The day I saw myself dance

On March 10th, 2009.  For the first time ever, I saw myself dance.

Yes there were mirrors and glimpses of recordings before, but I've never seen myself dance for a full song.  The most I've seen so far is a few seconds of recordings that my dear friend and sister took of the Christmas Choir concert last Dec.

What I found interesting is that how significantly better the dance is when viewed as a whole. 

Background story:  I am in Ministry in Motion in my church, and we have several songs that we are preparing for the Holy week.  One particular song is quite long and there are many different movements, making it a bit harder than usualy to remember everything.  So one day, the director brought her camera and recorded our rehearsal so that we can look back at it to remember what we've done.

What she recorded was our 2nd time of rehearsing the movements, which means that we've done the song in total, oh about… an hour so far.  So understandably, there are many many parts of it that one/more of us forgotten and therefore, there were many discreet (or not so discreet) glances and pauses where we have forgotten what we're supposed to do next.

During the recording, I forgot quite a few, and thought, hmm… we definitely has to record a new one once we remember everything properly.

Once we're done, and saw the recording together, quite amazingly it looked just fine!  When one forgots what to do, usually the others remember and since there are 5 of us, rarely do we pay attention to only 1 person and notice when she forgots her steps.

Another thing that I find really nice is that for the first time, I can finally see how the movements looks like in a group.  The synchronous, staggered and group movements look so much better viewed as a whole (as opposed to viewed from the corner of my eyes).

So, I am glad that I can finally see myself dance.  I've been wanting to do that for a long long time (not that I dance that often) … and I think it's really nice to be able to see myself to know what kinds of improvements can be made.

So there, I figure I'll record the date in my history. :D

Let's go Pluot!

So I finally updated my iPod Playlist and this French song that sounded like "Allez Pluot" is playing … The song sounds like a dramatic love ballad that's a duet between Tina Arena and Pascal Obispo.  However, due to my lack of understanding of the French language and my familiarity with this fruit called Pluot (Kind of like a flat plum .. Not sure why the bio engineers decided to make a flat plum), the song sounded like a these two singers trying to get a pluot to follow them. "Allez" --> Let's go.

Let's go Pluot!  Come on, let's go Pluot!! I know it's hard to walk without legs, but come on Pluot!!

Hmm.. There goes the romantic vibe of the song. :P

Maybe one day I'll understand what the song meant, and then maybe, just maybe, the pluot imagery can be done away with.

Good morning to you all and have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!  (One of my patron saint by the way)

~ G

Multi-lingual

I am currently: writing a document in English, listening to a French podcast and thinking/corresponding with e-mail in Indonesian.

Hmm.. It has been a long Friday… got to finish this long document by Monday 9 am… cia yo!!!  Ganbatte!!

~ G

Of faith and fate

I have been reading Amy Tan's pseudo-memoir called 'The opposite of fate'.  Like other Amy Tan's works, this book is very good, full of her thoughts and musings about life.  (It's pretty much how I aspire my blog entries to be)

Yesterday, I had my own thought regarding faith.

Amy Tan wrote that one of the differences between faith and fate is that with fate, you don't have any control, but with faith, you have the sense of control.

While singing in the choir last Sunday, I thought about how it seems that Indonesian Catholic Mass has more protocols to follow than that of a US Mass.  In fact, it seems that Indonesian version of the liturgy (Baptism, Mass, etc) seems to have more protocols in general.  More bows here and there, certain clothing to wear and certain mannerism in performing things.

It seems to be a more respectful way of doing Mass rather than the more casual way that I am used to do here.

Then I thought about how comforting it is to have many protocols to follow.  Similar to the many (intricate too, I must say) Chinese engagement protocols.

Protocols give us the comforting feeling that we are somehow in control of the situation.  If only we follow all of the protocols, we will be fine.  We will have good relationship with God, receive His blessings and our Chinese marriage will go well.  If anything goes slightly wrong, we can pinpoint the one protocol that we didn't execute properly and lay the blame on it.

In a way, it becomes like the Pharisees and their love of rules and protocols.

However, there is something to be said of receiving undeserving blessings.

I thought about the time when I wasn't so sure about what I should do.  When I didn't know which voices I should listen to and which manual I should follow to be a good daughter of God.  When it seems that all teachings are good, and yet at the same time, they are somewhat contradictory with each other. 

Little did I know that those were one of the best times in my faith life.

In the midst of all the confusion, I tried hard to listen to the voice of God, but it seems like it get mixed up with all of the audible messages that I heard from the people around me.  So I "froze", and tried to do my best to make my way through this jungle called life.  In a time like that, when I wasn't completing my long checklist of to-do things that's required to be a good person, I was showered with God's blessing.

I didn't remember what the exact blessing was, or even when it happened.  But I do remember how it felt.  It felt so liberating, and I felt so secure in His love.  It taught me that God is bigger than my to-do checklist.  And that in the most undeserving time, He called upon my name and remembered me.  I got a glimpse of what it felt like to be one of the lepers that Jesus touched 2000 years ago.  In a world where many people ask 'What's in it for me' before doing something for others, it felt very humbling to be be touched when you have absolutely nothing to offer back.  It taught me that God's blessing is not tied to how many points I accumulated from my to-do checklist.  And most importantly, it taught me that God is not tied to a person, event, place or situation.  God is truly everywhere and it has always been between you and God.

There is a danger that when somebody does many things to serve Him, they started to lose sights on what it was originally for.  And that when they receive His blessings, they feel that they somehow deserve it.  After all, they already did all of those things.

At least once in your lifetime, I hope that you will experience the joy of getting God's blessings when you feel you least deserve it.  When it happened, it could be a small thing that passes by uneventfully.  But in the hindsight, it would be one of the most powerful lesson that you would learn.

I know that all of the things that I learnt were cliches.  Those are the things that all religious education teachers teach their students.  But nothing drives home the lessons like your own experience!

Time and time again, I kept being reminded that no matter what, unless by my own will, I will never lose God.  And I am grateful for a patient Teacher who never loses faith in His students.

~ G

End of year musings

As customary (or at least once before), here is my end-of-year reflection.

I hereby proclaimed that (at least in my life), year of 2008 as the year of new "things".

<Year of 2007 is the year where things are not like what they seemed, but that's a topic for another post, one that unfortunately I never get to write because I went home for Christmas and hence were busy with things like hunting for my favorite food>

So, this is the year of new "things" because there were several things that happened that I kept saying "oh, I'll only do that when the world turns upside down" …

So here are the new things:
1.  I finally took a step in learning Chinese (this is the first upside down world thing)
For the longest time, I always thought that Chinese would be the last language that I would ever learn, simply because it's tonal and I tend not to do well with tonal language since I like to be able to say my sentences in my own melody.  I finally realized how useful Chinese last year when both me and my friend Hendi can get around in France using French (me) and Chinese (Hendi).  But come Italian cities, and my French becomes useless, yet Hendi's Chinese remains relevant.  So, I finally decided to take a Chinese class and did some study on my own from the web.  Unfortunately the class conflicted with my schedule, and I didn't take it this year.  BUT, the motivation is there and one of these days I will learn Chinese!!! :D

Ok… the rest is to be posted later….

To be continued….

'Tis the season to be .... Married!

Yo ho ho!!

It seems that everybody's getting married nowadays!!  Within 1 month, the following happens:

-  My high school best friend got married in Australia
-  My college roommate announced that she's getting married next January in Jakarta and Bali
-  And I learned that my graduate school classmate is also getting married soon

-  Plus my choir's piano player is getting married next month (and the choir's pooling together money for a secret wedding gift.. Hush hush!)

-  And my choir's sound engineer just got married a few weeks ago

I think that's it…. Oh, and did I mention that now I volunteer at my church as a wedding coordinator?  Now I volunteered to run wedding rehearsals, set the church and coordinate the wedding on the wedding day!

To close this entry, a few weeks ago, on one of the Tuesday daily masses, we celebrated a couple's 64-year wedding anniversary.  64 years!!!!!!!  I haven't even lived half that long!!  64 years!!!!!  It's really sweet to see that old couple lovingly celebrating their 64-year wedding anniversary.. :)

And they live happily ever after….

~ G

Things to do while 25

Copying the tradition of one of my friend, I created a list of (supposedly) 25 things that I want to do while I am 25.  Except that I can only come up with 8.  I created this back in… January '08 I think, before I turned 25 and then I sort of forgot about the list.

Well, I just stumbled upon the list again, and here is the update:

Things I want to do while I am 25:
1. Watch "Wicked"
-  Done.  Chicago Ford theater, Memorial weekend.  I still like "Les Mis" better.

2. Complete half of my learn Piano
- Not done, and I don't think it will get done. :P

3. Read the Sisterhood of the Pants (in French) to completion
-  Working on it.  I am halfway through the book so far. :D

4. Get a manicure
-  Done.  My lovely boyfriend got me the spa gift certificate that includes a manicure and pedicure. :)  I concluded that I am not a mani/pedi-type of girl.  The manicure actually bothered me because I am not used to long nails, and then I proceeded to spend the next 3 days watching for signs of chipping.  So, after the manicure I decided that I like my nails trimmed and short as they are right now, better for typing blog entries anyway. :D

5. Be in some kind of dance production where I get to learn some choreograph and dance with other people
-  Surprisingly, done.  When I wrote this, I was thinking about a play of some sort.  But it turned out that coincidentally, I joined a Ballroom Rumba group dance showcase.  I get to learn a group Rhumba choreograph, and danced the routine with 3 other ladies in a Ballroom studio's showcase night.  I didn't realize it until today that I have actually done my no. 5 wish list! :)  yay.

6. Sing with a decent volume
-  Kind of done.  I think.  My choir director put me in the 'loud singer' section a few practices ago, so I guess now she can hear my voice.

7. Sing the songs with the proper breath, i.e. not cheating on breath
-  Kind of done, depending on the song.  On most songs, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I can actually complete the entire stanza (?? Sentence ??) in one breath as requested by the choir director. 

8. Not be hoarse after singing
- Done.  Most times I am less hoarse after singing that last year.  So I will mark this as done for now. 

Phew!  What a year, and it's only November! :)

~ G

The end of the tree saga

So, with great relief I can announce to the world that my tree saga has finally ended!

It all started when the tree on my front lawn died on a fateful Fall 2 years ago.  Since then, it has been a neverending nuisance to try to get the tree back.  You can read all about it on my previous blog entries.

Anyway, finally, the landscaping company came and planted my tree!!!  I got a Crabapple tree as the replacement tree, which totally made me think of Bart Simpson's teacher.  They planted it last September, and so far it has been faring well.  The first frost has come, and the tree has been standing tall for 2 months in its new home.  So far it hasn't died yet.  Good. :)

Hopefully this tree will last, and maybe (dare I hope?) even bear fruit!

Happily living in a house with a front lawn with a tree,
Glenny

A tribute

So I just found out that the lead engineer of my car died back in January 2006 due to overwork.  His name is not released due to privacy.  Well, to Mr. -my car- Lead Engineer, I tip my hat to you.  You have built a good, well-built piece of machinery.  Thank you for all your (and your team) hardwork and attention to details.  As a customer, I thank you, your good name lives on through the great product that you built.

Also, condolences to his wife and daughter.

I feel sad for his wife and daughter, having a husband/father who passed away at the age of 45.  I am guessing that they didn't spend much time with him, since he logged on average 80 hours of overtime per month.  I hope that in the future, quality products do not come at the expense of personal and family life.  I hope that worklife and family balance will no longer be a luxury, but a way of life.  That quality work product and quality family time will no longer be mutually exclusive.

- moment of silence -

~G

To garden or not to garden

I know that I don't like gardening.  I told myself that I should like it, because it seemed that all cute grandmas do it, and one day, God willing, I will be one myself.

My first foray into the plant world is my <free> Poinsettia plant (died 6 months later with fungus), and then <bday present> an orchid plant (died 8 months later even with special orchid food), <self bought> bunch of potted cilantro from Meijer (died, .. Or eaten, I forgot), <free> a random green plant (died from being forgotten outside on the deck through winter) and lastly <gift from a coworker who got laid off> my still-alive The Wandering Jews plant (although my friend told me that it's *very* hard to kill that plant).

With my purple Wandering Jew plant going on its 3rd year, I am feeling confident that my brown thumb had changed into… light brownish hue.

So, when my boyfriend bought a house with a garden that's wedged in between two beautifully manicured garden that are kept by two retired couples who are avid gardeners, I decided that I will help him gardening.

Lo and behold, I really enjoyed gardening!  I spent my last few Sundays gardening and felt quite surprised when I actually enjoyed it!  Just as I thought that I am well on my way into becoming one of those cute grandmas with beautiful flower beds, I realized that it's not gardening that I am fond of, ... it's quite the opposite of it.

You see, I have been trimming hedges, shaping bushes, trimming tree branches and pulling off weeds.  Sounds simple, but believe me, there are a LOT of hedges and bushes to be shaped.  And they haven't been trimmed for 2 years!  So you can imagine that I chopped down a lot of branches, leaves, dead branches, dead roots and defiant weeds.

So all in all, turned out that I like to kill plants… not grow them.  So my brown thumb is still brown, and I still don't like gardening.  I just had a lot of fun using the power trimmer tools to whack, chop and shape. :D

Sigh….  :)

-  <not-so> Gardener Glenny -

My Lion King Theology

So I have been spending my morning listening to the Lion King Broadway recording, while typing a giganticly long user screen document, when suddenly a thought crossed my mind and lingered there.

Yesterday, on a young adult meeting with Fr. Pat, we talked about what faith means to all of us.  And today, in 'He lives in You (Reprise)' song, Rafiki said 'Have faith…' when Simba looked into the water and cannot see anybody but himself.

Rafiki's implied words are similar to what I said about faith in yesterday's meeting, trusting that He is there even though at times we cannot see Him.

Just like Simba who found his father's reflection on his, we too find God's reflection on ours.  After all, in Genesis it is written that we are created in His image.

"Into the water, into the truth…. He's watching over, he lives in you" said Rafiki..

We find truth in God, God lives within us and we are each a reflection of God.

That's my thought on the Lion King Theology this morning … :)

~ G

iPOD plastic cover

Just want to record that after about 3.5 years of owning my iPOD mini, I finally remove the its click wheel plastic covering..  After 3.5 years, I finally know the texture of my iPOD mini's clickwheel!!!

Hmm.. And I used to make fun of my friend who kept his laptop plastic covering for months after he got his laptop.. :)

Hi Lau, thanks for the note…  I should start making updates to my blog … :D

- G -

2008 Lenten Resolution

Hey, it's Lent!

My favorite season of the year!! :D

So this year, again, I am trying to figure out what to do for my Lenten resolution.  During last Sunday's Mass, while singing the Kyrie (An especially good and moving version of Kyrie, I really highly recommend you to listen to it if you can.  I don't know who compose it, but I can find out.  I can sing it for you if you want.. Oh, and for instruments, we had organ (rarity), violin and flute for accompaniment, really pretty combination!).

Anyway, while listening/singing Kyrie, I saw the procession of the priest coming in to the altar.  Suddenly I remembered the lenten days of the past and I missed them terribly.  I missed the days when I know people in the church, when I was actively involved in the church, when I know the stories of the RCIA candidates who were with me in the Mass, when I was a reader and when I know that I will meet my friends in Mass.

That was when I got my Lenten resolution this year.  Instead of yearning for the past Lenten days, I want to make the present Lenten days to be as meaningful as the past years'.  I don't know what to do yet, but I want to get to know more of the people in my current church, and be more active in it.  I've been working on this for the past year and a half or so, and it's been not easy.  But then again, miracles do happen during the Lenten season, and I figure, if I start from myself, and have a new outlook toward this, something good will happen.

So, that's my Lenten resolution.

Oh, I made a progress too!  I asked the Lector coordinator whether I can lector during the Triduum Mass, since I won't be in the Triduum choir, and she is considering me!!  Yay!!!  If I can lector during one of the Triduum Mass, that would mean a LOT to me…. And if I can't lector, I will volunteer as a greeter (they're looking for greeters for Triduum Masses).  I figure, that will go well with my Lenten resolution! :D

So, have a good Lenten season, friends!

Remember, you will always have hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the death. :)

<huggies, from a supercold girl in a supercold Michigan day>

Cadence of life in US vs Indonesia

Random reflection from a conversation on a gloomy and rainy morning commute:

(Disclaimer:  This is pure generalization from my own personal observation, not backed up by any scientifical research whatsoever.)

 
Elementary (pre-college) Education:
Indonesia -- hard (lots of memorization, drills, suffering hours)
US -- easy (more focus on concepts and applications)

College Education:
Indonesia -- easy (rumor has it…)
US -- hard (the time where I work the hardest in my life so far -- a quote in 2000 MIT recruiting brochure also says the same thing)

Work life:
Indonesia -- hard (rumor has it that they require long hours, like, staying 'till 2 - 4 am long)
US -- easy (relatively … work-life balance is respected)

Of course, all these really depends on the person, location, where you work/study, etc.

But in my very broad stroke of generalization, it seems to be this way for me.  What do you think?

~ G

Hip hop vs. grammar

Sometimes I feel that the more hip hop I listen to, the worse my grammar is becoming.

I've been to listening to a mixed song online radio station while at work, due to shortage of new songs for my iPod.  Most of the songs are ok, but then now and then there are hip hop songs with wrong grammar, like 'Just the way I are'.  :(  The worst is when one of the refrain says 'Just the way I am are'  to rhyme with 'the way you are' … :(

Hmm..

The other alternative is Josh Groban's Noel Album, which is just decadently wonderful.  But unfortunately, there are only 10 songs there to tide me over until the end of the year. :P 

Have a wonderful Advent!
~ G

Response to comment about oatmeal

You can't really stir it if you fill your oatmeal cup to the brim, or it will spill out.  Yes, you can fill it partially full, but the bowl (rather, cup) is really small, so you will get very little oatmeal that way! :P  Yes, you can buy the larger bowl, but then you'll be paying extra for the extra space. :)

~ G

How to build your Oatmeal

On some mornings, I eat oatmeal from the cafeteria for my breakfast.  They served it in a gigantic bowl, and you take however much you want into your smaller bowl.

However, putting the brown sugar, cinnamon and granola at the top, will make your top oatmeal too sweet and your bottom oatmeal tastes bland.

So, you got to do it in layers:
First, lay the foundation of brown sugar, and granola.  Just put a bit, since there will be more layers to come.  You don't want your oatmeal to taste too sweet (or do you? :P )

Add a bit of oatmeal, and put more brown sugar and granola on top of it.
Continue all the way until the top of your bowl.
For the top layer, leave a bit of space for the last layer of sweetness. 
Put a thin layer of sweetness, and this time top with cinnamon powder for your taste buds as well as olfactory senses (nose)

Voila!  Healthy breakfast (relatively, cinnamon is good for you too!) with just the right amount of sweetness and it doesn’t require mixing your oatmeal at your desk, which can be messy.

A random posting especially after a long hiatus from posting, but oh well! :)

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!! 

~ G

On my mind

This weekend I watched more movies that I usually do in a span of 3 months, so I figure, I'll list the entertainments that recently passed by my mind.  Just because.

Movies:
- Volver (I like the small down-to-earth style of the movie.  The plot is kinda horrifying, although believeable.  Penelope Cruz is georgeous in this movie btw)

- The Whole Wide World (Renee Zellweger; weird and I don't really get it, but Renee apparently really liked this movie as said in the Special Features interview)

- Elizabethtown (Orlando Bloom is quite feminine in this movie, and Kirsten Dunst play the same type of character that she always plays in her movies)

- The Cat and Mouse (Andy Lau and Cecilia Cheung; reminded me of all the kungfu movies I grew up with.  The settings is surprisingly old and dreary, or maybe I am just used to Holywood blitz?)

Books (on CD):
- Prep by Curtis Sittenfield - A really good book.  The story is simple, about a girl's experiences during her years in a boarding school in East Coast.  But the small details that are in this book are delightful. :)

- Man of my dreams by Curtis Sittenfield - I figure if the first book is great, then this one should be too.  So far it's a so-so book, with wavering plot and ok narration.

Music:
- Soundtrack of Wicked, the musical:  I've been meaning to watch this for a while.  In the meantime, I am listening to the soundtrack.  I must say, the first time I heard the first song (on random order) from the soundtrack, I liked it right away!

- Everything, by Michael Buble:  Heard this song while in Italy, loved it for its simplicity and cuteness.
- Bubbly by Colbie Caillat:  Simple, light, airy, made me think of riding in a countryside with the window down (which of course, never happened to me)

~ G

Flyin' colors!

Yay, I have my life back!!!  <leap and dance>

I am finally done with my big exam!  I took CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional - 250 questions - 6 hours of drudgery) 2 Saturdays ago, learnt that I passed this past Friday, and now I am all partyin'!

I didn't realize how much this exam is taking a toll on my life until I realize that now I no longer have to head straight to the public library to study after work (although I kinda enjoyed being a quasi student for a while, with my backpack, cup of mocha and laptop), read 10 - 30 pages of material every night, sweat about whether I have enough material covered, worry about the wrong questions that I got on the practice tests, be paranoid that I will be sick and the worst of all, feel that I should be studying when I am out living my life.

So nowadays, I go home, and I still feel that I am supposed to quickly use the downtime that I have to squeeze in a few more page or reading, only……. I am done with the exam and I can finally rest!!!  Now I can go to parties, eat dinner with friends, cook more food, watch movies, clean the house, do ironing, go shopping, go back to my choir practices, learn to dance, look at houses, … anything!!!  I have my life back yay!!

Small print:  Only, now I have to speed study for this networking class that I am taking whose final exam is this Thursday. :P  I haven't been studying for this class for the past 3 weeks to prepare for that big exam. :)  Oh well, after Thursday, I'll get my life back!

~ Happy Glenny

Best choc chip cookie ever!

I found the best chocolate chip ever!!  I like chocolate chip cookies, in fact, that's the only kind of cookies that I eat, chocolate chip cookies, no sugar nor M&M cookies for me.  I used to like the soft-baked choc chip cookies, until I feel like I am eating cookie dough.  Store-bought cookies are too dry, and homemade cookies are good, but they are not readily accessible (Unless, I guess, I made them myself).  I never like specific chocolate chip cookies as much as I like this one.

It is ……………….. <drum roll>

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies from Potbelly

(baked fresh daily)  $4 or so for a small bag.

They are super yum!! Just the right amount of chewiness at the center and soft crunchiness at the side, the perfect 3-bite size, the perfect center thickness and the perfect amount of chocolate chip.  Plus, you got the (minuscule) health effect from eating oatmal, not to mention the chewiness!!

The homemade cookies that comes very close to this cookies are the ones made by Maggie (Kat's sister)…. Yum yum yum! :)

So excited!

<cookie> G </cookie>

Api = fire

While studying for my exam, I was looking up information about sprinkler system (the difference between wet, dry and preaction systems), and bumped into API Fire Protection Group website.  It provides the information I needed, but even more interesting, API means 'Fire' in Indonesian, so it's a very appropriate name for a Fire Protection Group.  So I was thinking that this must be an Indonesian or at least Asian site of some sorts.  It turned out that they only have offices in US, Canada and United Kingdom!  Now I wonder, how did they get that cute/clever name?  What a cute coincidence! :)

~ G

Books on CD

I figure, since I have 30 mins (+/- 10)  of commute each way every day, I might as well do something with those times.

I used to listen to books on CD for my commute, and learn foreign language too, but then it became boring, that listening to radio is more fun than listening to the books.  So I stopped.

But recently, I started listening to books on CD again.  It all began when I serendipitiously found 'Freakonomics' on CD in my company library.  I've been meaning to read it for the past year, but never had the time for it.  So, great!  Now I can 'read' it because I can do it on my commute!

Then, propelled by the 'Freakonomics' successful experience, I listened to 'Tipping Point' (by Malcolm Gladwell, author of 'Blink').  Unfortunately, this book is not as interesting as 'Freakonomics', and I am slowly slipping back to the era of boring books on CD.

So I decided to go to my local library, and borrowed fun chick novels that I never get to read (or feel guilty reading, since I feel that I should be doing something else instead, i.e. study or clean the house or read my piling Time magazine subscriptions).  I borrowed 'In Her Shoes', a chick-flick novel (the movie starred Cameron Diaz), and been 'read'-ing it since 2 weeks ago. 

Now I see my commute in a completely different light!  Now I really don't mind traffic jam; no more stressful feeling when my commute takes 40 minutes instead of the usual 21 minutes, no more antsy feeling when I got stuck behind the left-turn light that only blinks green for 2 seconds, and I feel just fine and serene  when my lane is not moving and the other lane is speeding by.

But wait, there's more!  I also started looking forward to my workdays, because that means I get to know what happens next in the story.  I got up in the morning, and the thought of wanting to know what happens next in the book motivates me like the carrot in front of a donkey.  Once, I even cleaned up the whole interior of my car, just so that I can keep listening to the book and know what happens next. 

So…. When your commute starts to get annoying, try 'read'-ing a fun book that you never get to read!

- Book worm Glenny -

Days of sleepiness

So I have been really sleepy at work these past few days, and I stoop to a new low level in the kinds of food that I eat in a futile effort to stay awake.  Here is the chronicle:

Day 1:  Went to the shop for hot coffee, came back with Good Humor Ice cream cone.
Verdict: Not bad, the walk to the shop wakes me up more than the ice cream.  Especially since the ice cream fell down to the floor due to me trying to lick hard frozen ice cream with too much strength, leaving me with the crunchy cone.

Day 2:  Chewy candy, the chewiness will wake me up, so the theory goes.
Verdict: Success.  I chose Starburst, and the sweet-sourness mix plus the chewiness provides me with the chewing activity that keeps me alert, as well as sugar mini high.

Day 3: Beef Jerky - for the chewiness and hard to eat factor.
Verdict: No no no no way!  Not only that it doesn't taste that good and is unhealthy for you, this snack also fails to keep me awake.

So for now, I am just going to shower myself with Starburst.  Man, look at what I do to my body in the name of staying awake at work….  ^_^

- awake - for - now - Glenny -

Lost in translation

Heart (the card symbol) is translated to 'hati' in Indonesian.

They use 'hati' symbols for Valentine and other lovey dovey stuff.

Heart (the human organ) is translated to 'jantung' in Indonesian. 

'Hati' (the human organ) is translated to ….. 'liver' in English.

Now, for some unknown twisted medical reason, some sappy poems sometimes say that one's lover is one's 'jantung hati', which, when loosely translated, means liver's heart.

Confusing.

- G -

Swimlane diagram

In the absence of MS Visio,  MS Excel is the best tool to create swimlane diagrams, or any other diagram for that matter.

It has most of MS Word's flowchart capabilities, *and* it can span multiple pages seamlessly (very important for long diagrams).  Excel doesn't have a keyboard shortcut for center alignment though.

The resulting file is not as big as MS Powerpoint, and you can still do the same styling that you can do in Powerpoint.

Hope this is useful for those who are deprived of Visio but need to create charts and the likes. :)

~ G

Random thought - dance

Here I am assigning values into my mini database, and a random thought went into my head…

I've never seen myself dance!

I've seen pictures, I think a total of 3 pictures total.  2 swing dancing and 1 worship dancing.  That's about it.

I guess I just don't rehearse in places that have mirrors, or have my dance routine videotaped.  Back in highschool, I took dancexercise as my afterschool activity, but the gym floor has no mirrors.  When I did ballroom dancing, sometimes I practiced in studios with mirrors, but I am partner-dancing, so I can't see myself dancing.  And when I do worship dancing, we practiced in racquet ball court (shhh!), conference hall, and my living room, again, no mirrors.

There is, however, a tape of me dancing (oooooh!).  I went to my friend Ryan's wedding, and I think my friend Jim taped me while I was swing-dancing there.  I never see the tape though… Hmm…  Come think about it, there's also a taped worship dance session during ASM's anniversary celebration, but I don't think I was in the tape, it was mostly Yolanda, and it was like 3 seconds long.

So yeah, random thought, I've never seen myself dance. :)  So I guess I'll just stick with the picture I have in my head about how I look like when I dance… Might be better that way too! :P

~ G

Me and the chair

I feel silly….

After 3 days in the new job…. (and new chair) …. I finally figured out how to configure the back support of my chair!  The back was very straight before, which doesn't really bother me, until my back, shoulder and neck started hurting today…

I was shifting left and right, adjusting my monitor, the angle to which I sit on the desk (the desk is curvy), but alas, no luck.  And then… while on the phone, complaining about the very chair to my boyfriend, I finally found the 2 knobs that I didn't see before.

Ahhh…….. Paradise….. Well, not quite, but still pretty nice. :)

My chair's back support can finally recline, and the resistance can be adjusted…. <happy sigh…….>

I hope my back problem will go away soon now. :D

PS: Now I can relate to Miu and my other friends who have back problems…. :(

~ G

Growing pains

Growing up is hard to do… that seems to be the theme of my past 2 weeks.

In the past month, I have been thinking of what I want to do… In life, professionally and spiritually.  Nothing big happened really, it's just that we have to pick a job rotation 3 weeks ago, so I went about thinking of what I want to do for my next rotation, which leads to what I want to do professionally, which leads to long term planning, which leads to thinking about my life in general.  Grr you job carousel!  :)

So, why is it so hard to figure out what I want?

I live a life that I considered privileged.  I am given the ability to choose what I want, I might not get everything, but the option is there.  I can choose what to major in school, where to go for my job, even what I do in my job (through the rotational program).

So, why is it, after 5 years of schooling and 2 years of cube-dwelling, I still don't know what I want to do for a living?  Something techie, something people-oriented, some problem-solving, and something that involves continuous learning.  That's about what I figured out so far.  Not much, but it’s a start.

Why did I say that growing up is hard to do?  Well, after pondering about what I want to do in my job, I got to pondering what I want to do in my domestic life.  I was thinking about what kind of person I want to become, and what kind of relationship I want to have with my sister.  How I can be stern and instilling discipline on her, but loving at the same time.  In short, I am learning the art of parenting, kind of, in the nano-scale.  And let me tell you, it's hard.

That's all. Only 2 things really.  Job and sister.  But I feel that these 2 issues brought me into many intersections of life, where I get to decide into what kind of person I will become..  Much like the little chips that a sculptor makes in the process of creating a sculpture.

The mini decisions that will differentiate my ideal view of Glenny, and my reality of who I am. :)

~ Pondering Glenny

Note to Law, Herry and Scott

Hehehe… ^_^

Actually the post was inspired by Herry's recent blog post… I got an e-mail everytime he updated his blog, so I thought, hmm.. Maybe I should update mine too! :)

To Law and Herry, see you soon!
To Scott, talk to you soon!

~ G

Glenny vs puzzles

I'd like to think that I am a simple person..

However, I really like puzzles. :)  I buy 1 puzzle every year from this booth 'Toys from the Times Past' in Ann Arbor Art Fair.  This year I bought one that consists of 4 cubes and a box.  You're supposed to put those 4 cubes into the box, but the cubes are not exactly cubes, some of the sides are slanted.  Hence, they won't go in easily. :)

I like jigsaw puzzles… By chance, I have been working on the Disney photomosaics 1000 pieces puzzle series.  I got 4 done so far, and 1 on the way. 

I like brainteasers…. I used to gather some for my highschool's Math Club bulletins.

I like wooden puzzles… and to some extent, the wire/bended nail puzzles.

I like optical illusions… does that count as puzzles?

I like the logic questions in the old GRE… those are kind of like puzzles. :)

I like my life to be simple, but Iike my toys to be puzzling. :)  The nice thing about puzzle is that the problem is contained within your puzzle.  With puzzles, most of the time, you have all the resources, information and problem statement, right there in your hand.  The problem is within your control.

And when you made that logical leap that allows you to look into a problem in a different way, you suddenly discovered the answer that has been there all along.  The jigsaw pieces go together, the cubes assembles into the box nicely, the 2 nails separates and the problem is solved.

It makes you wonder, what will you find in life, if you look at it with a different angle, a different perspective, a different expectation?

Hmm…
~ G ~

Growing pains

This week I learnt quite a bit about myself.. My poor little sister is sick… and I've always joked that she's like my kid.  My coworkers talk about their kid, I talk about my sister.

Went home early to take care of her, worked from home to make sure she's ok, took her to the doctor and et cetera.  What I am not prepared for is how it affects me psychologically.  Doing "mom" chores is only a small part of the equations, what's going on inside is a larger part of the equation.

I am discovering things about myself, and learn to cope and deal with it.

Maybe one day I will be ready to be a mom… It is much more complex than diapers and discipline.  I really appreciate moms a whole lot more now.  I used to appreciate it from the angle of what they have done for us, but going through my 8 months or so with my sister made me appreciate moms from a different angle.  And I don't even have my own kid yet…. :)

Happy Mother's day…..

On a different note, for some reason, people at my workplace has been quite stressed out lately.  Some because of a rough patch, some because of extra work, and some because some domestic thing that I have no business of knowing.  That, combined with my sister being sick on the back of my head, kind of affects me.  Some thoughts mulling over in my head… Growing pains… in learning about yourself and moving forward, you discover things that you don't quite want to admit.  Realization that you might fall a bit short of your original goal, and how you've changed over the years.

I guess I am growing a bit more this week… finding out who I am, finding things to straighten out in my life, and learning how to take just another step into this crazy funky thing called adulthood.

Cheers,
~ G

Tree oh my tree (cont'd)

Now how could a receptionist say "You have reached the after-hour number where we can only take emergency requests.  I cannot route you to anybody, I can only take emergency request.  However, I cannot tell you what the business hour of the office is."

The least she can do is tell me that the office is closed.  Sigh….

Doesn't seem like I am getting a new tree, the new condo management doesn't want to take care of the problem.  Telling me to contact the builder directly.  The problem is, I have been in contact with the previous management company in dealing with my tree problem, hence I don't quite know the contact info of the tree company.  Grrr….<angry>

I want my tree!!!

<sigh……>

~ Tree-less Glenny

Closure

Never really thought about closure until I watched the one 'Friends' episode when Rachel said that she finally got closure over Ross.

Funny how your mind tells you that you've got closure over a past relationship but your heart is just isn't ready yet. Your brain and rational thinking will say (and try to convince you quite rigorously, I might add) that you've got closure already... But when it got manifested in an action a few days, months, years later, it caught you by surprise, because you thought that you've already closed the case way back when.

In my case, it came in the form of listening to sappy love songs and no longer be angry and cynical about them..

It came in the form of finally being able to look into a person's past (blog) and not take it personally...

It came in the form of peace... knowing that the decision to break up is the right one, and that it was nobody's fault. It's just as simple as finally realizing that you are just not the right person for each other and decided to part ways instead of forcing something that wasn't meant to be.

It came in the form of acquiescing that (maybe) mom was right, even though I still respectfully disagree with her... That she does have some valid points that I would so idealistically write-off because, well, I was young and idealistic....

It's funny how all at once it hits you in the face. All the pieces of the puzzle finally interlocked together, and all the missing pieces fall into place. The cases are closed, and now it's time to begin a new chapter in my life. No bitterness and no hard feelings. Just some personal thoughts and (I hope) a bit more maturity.

~ G

Simple joys in life

Many little things in life give me such joy...

 

One of it (that happens to be happening right now, hence I decided to write about it) is laying here in my bed, working on a homework, listening to soft jazz/pop, with the late Spring wind breezing through my window.

 

My favorite Glenny time:  To curl up with a nice book, warm and cozy, with soft classical jazz music playing in the background. 

 

Too bad I didn't get to do that too often...

 

That's why, even though I am doing work instead of fun reading, I still treasure this wonderful unexpected Glenny time... :)

 

<happy sigh>

 

~ G

From my desk

My quote from my chat with a coworker today, he really liked it, so I figure I'll post it here:

"Back about overtime:  last year you might need to do it, and you might know that it's not a permanent thing.  You are the best judge of a best way to spend an hour of your life... and if I know that your family is important to you, then I trust your judgement in how you spend your time in relation to overtime vs family time"

~ G

Paranoid Glenny

Due to recent readings regarding ID theft and personal information disclosure and all the hullabaloo surrounding that, I became a paranoid person. :)

So, here's the deal with my blog (most of these are implemented already):
-  I won't use last names when mentioning other people in my blog
-  I will be rather vague in mentioning names of places
-  No picture posting (sadness… I was about to post my first picture on my blog too!)

Effect on you: 

If you want to know more detail about something, shoot me a comment.  I am more than happy to share my stories with you.  If I know your e-mail address, just leave me your initial or something.  Most of the time I can recognize who you are from your writing.

If I don't know your e-mail, you can post your e-mail on the comment, and I can remove the comment afterwards.

If you feel that any posting on my blog reveals too much of your personal information, let me know.

This is done so that I don't have to limit who can read my blog…. Trying to strike the balance of free-for-all blog postings, letting you guys know what's up with miss Glenny and keeping personally-identified-information safe at the same time. :)

Lastly, feel free to post comments making fun of me for being so paranoid…. ^_^

Cheers!

~ G

2006/2007

Quickie entry that is long-due:

If I have to sum my 2006 in a sentence:
"In true love, there is freedom"

If I have to sum my first quarter of 2007 in a sentence:
"Things are not like what they seem to be"

Maybe one day I will finally elaborate these sentences, as well as post my "2006, year in review" posting. :)

~ G

Italian?

Seems like if you're speaking Italian, no matter what you're saying, you sounds like you're asking a question. :)

Branching off from my regular French podcast to learn bits and pieces of Italian. :P  Vorrei quello? <sp>  -->  I want that one.

With my luck, my sentence will begin with a bit of German, continued with some Italian in the middle, and will always end with French's "s'il vous plait" (English = Please)

Potpourri of European language. :P

~ G

New cell phone

For a person who doesn't really care about updating to the latest and greatest cellphone (or any other gadgets for that matter), today's a Kodak moment for me.

In my purse, there are 2 (not one, but two!) brand new cell-phones!  And one is one of those cute smart-phone.

Let's see whether they actually increase productivity. :)

Cute, two shiny new gadgets (actually, they both have brushed-satin finish) hanging out in my purse, like ebony and ivory, T-Mobile and Cingular.

~ G

A little note

Met a friend last weekend where I can finally not feel guilty about being me.

It's kinda nice! :)

~ G

Note:  "Guilty" is not necessarily the right word, it's kinda strong, but due to lack of knowledge of a better word, "guilty" will have to do for now.

It's different in France

In France, they measure internet speed with Octe (sp?)

1 Octe = 8 bytes.

1MO = 1 Mega Octe = 8 Mega Bytes in the US.

c'est interessant, n'est ce pas?

~ G

Spookies

After a long deliberate dry spell of horror movies, I finally watched a horror movie this weekend.  On my own accord, can you believe that?

 

For those who don't know, I don't really like horror movies because I am really jumpy (maybe that's why people like to watch jumpy movies with me, but that's another story).  Yeah yeah yeah, I know that those creepy crawly stuff are made up and not real, but I still get spooked. :)

 

So, last weekend, it was a Kodak moment.  Out of my own accord, I suggested a horror movie to watch and actually watched it.

 

I watched The Reaping.

 

As far as movies go, it's not that good.  It's kinda artsy, but not quite there.  And it kinda forces you to be scared.  It has all the classic tricks that you can find in a horror movie knapsack.  And it's a jumpy movie, of course. :)

 

I wanted to see the 10 plagues that were mentioned in the Old Testament.  The frogs are rather gross.. yikz, and the first half an hour reminded me of my former roommate's homework (she's in Environmental Science, and has to go through lakes to get water samples and duckweed samples)

 

So yeah, just thought that I should record this momentous moment, I watched a horror movie.... most of it at least.... :)

 

~ G

 

PS:  Did I mention that there were a bunch of highschool girls who sat behind us?  Yeah... great scream-y stereo sound..... :)

My tree, oh my tree

So, there's this cute little tree in front of my front door.

Unfortunately, it died.

Fortunately, it's still under warranty. 

So winter 2 years ago, I called and asked for the tree to be replaced.  They told me to wait to make sure that the tree is really dead on not just being dormant, and to tie a ribbon on the tree to indicate which one it is, and for the next few months, people asked me why I tie a nice ribbon on my dead tree.  Finally, they came and took the tree out...... on Spring.  Then I proceeded to wait for the new tree to be put in.  They said that they can only plant the tree during Spring.  Sadly, my phone calls to my condo association fell on deaf ears, or blown-by-the-wind post-it notes maybe?  And then, the management company changes last year, and I think my one tree plea is lost in the shuffle.  So, I just called the new company, this being theoretically Spring and all, and asked them about my tree.  The new person has no clue about the tree, and told me to that the request is recorded.  We'll see..... I hope I will have a new tree soon.   :)

~ G

Lenten resolution -- finale

Final scorecard for my lenten resolution?
1. The no meat thing was holding up pretty good until the end. I was feeling under the weather, and we were eating a nicely prepared Seder dinner, so I figure, better stay healthy than getting sick. Yeah, I won't do the no meat thing anymore next year. It doesn't really help me in my faith, I did have to control my craving for meat at times, but it's not that bad. Gotta find something better next year. :)

2. The "I left my dreams to die somewhere in 2006" thing? I neither left the dreams, nor picked them back up. I came to a neutral place where I can finally let God do His thing. I finally gave them to Him and trust Him with whatever He wants to do with them. I no longer try to guess what God's thinking nor try to argue why my way is the good way. I sit back, relax, and realized that I finally did what I wanted so hard to do last year, and failed. (Actually, I just realized it as I typed that sentence). It's a new feeling, one that I never thought I could have. Just as I thought that this resolution will either go one way or the other, it surprised me by taking a route that I didn't foresee before. I guess life is like that too! :)

~ G

Easter musing

Easter is a gift.

Yes, indeed it is.

Jesus gave his life for us so that we can join Him in the heaven, and that is indeed the most wonderful gift that could possibly be given.

However, the privilege, the ability to celebrate Easter is also a big gift that is given to us year after year. Being able to go through Lent, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and then celebrate Easter at the end is such a great gift for us. For 40 days each year, we get to experience such journey that molds us, gave us humility and cleanse us. For 3 days, we get to feel God's love so great that we wondered how we could ever forget such love a mere month, or even days, later. Through this experience, we are allowed to face our sins and fears, empowered to turn our backs to them and raised up fresh and new in Christ.

I am glad that we go through this whole journey, instead of only celebrating Easter on Easter Sunday.

The gift of Easter would not be complete without Lent, Holy Thursday and Good Friday that preceded it.

I am glad that we have that gift, every year.

~ G