Journey to the Past

Being Friendly and Nicknames

2011-02-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

A co-op student started her term in a big company. It was her first work experience, and she didn't quite like how she felt in the first few days. After a lifetime surrounded with friends, she felt the need to go out of her way to be friendly with all her new seniors.

First of all, she learnt all their names.
Then she started to communicate face-to-face, rather than via emails.
Then, feeling decidedly more comfortable, she started giving nicknames to her colleagues and call/email them by that nicknames. She felt they could be on a friendlier term when she did this.

Her colleagues, not knowing why she suddenly called them by shortened/different names, felt that she was being rude. It didn't help that one of the nickname she gave was actually the name the colleague was bullied with as a child (in another culture). So it seemed as if she was mocking them.

It is sufficient to say that her relationship with her colleagues did not improve, and they only talked on a need-to basis.

Lesson: Don't give people nicknames they don't approve of. Especially if those people are your colleagues (or seniors) at work place. (Exceptions apply to close friends -- they may know you mean no harm).

On the same note, don't people know that names are sacred? If his name is Matthew and he says, "you can call me Matt", then it's okay to call him Matt. On the other hand, if her name is Rebecca and she says, "my name is Rebecca [full stop]", then don't call her Becky. (And I know a "Steven" who doesn't want to be called "Steve" -- so don't assume).

Just ranting...

Jam Kehidupan - Remembering Abud

2011-01-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

This song has been playing in my head ever since I heard the news about a good friend's passing due to an accident. It was unexpected. He was still very young.

In our teenage years, we sang this song together.

Jam kehidupan diputar sekali
Dan tak seorang pun tau kapan 'kan berhenti
Mungkin hari ini, mungkin esok, mungkin nanti
Cepat atau lambat, tak seorang tau
Bila waktunya

Jam kehidupan diputar sekali
Dan tak seorang pun tau kapan 'kan berhenti
Sadarilah, kawan, hidup ini tak terulang
Sekarang waktunya yang kau miliki
S'karang waktunya

Milikilah kasih Yesus
Yang menjadikan hidupmu berarti
Bekerjalah di ladang-Nya
Agar hidup tiada percuma

My friend had definitely done that in his life. He was a figure we love and respect, mostly because he loved God with all his heart.

I regret being so far away that I couldn't even attend his funeral. And while I know God's plan is the best and beyond my own understanding, let me grieve a while longer for my good friend. The tears will eventually dry and I will smile again. But for now, let me cry some more.

He is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a child in his wife's womb. May the Lord, the source of all comfort, strengthen and guide and embrace them in His love and faithfulness.

Abud, we will miss you, and we will see you in heaven one day.

Tax System Explained in Plain English

2010-11-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

I got this story from Darwin. It's definitely an eye opener...

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100…

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do..

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80."

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that’s right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"

"That’s true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

How true! ^_^

My New Journal

2010-10-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

When going to the Mall the other day with my friend, I mentioned in the passing that I am looking for a new journal, just to write my thoughts down. There was none that I liked at the time, so I didn't buy any.

Since then, Chris and I have been going to stores looking for the "perfect journal" (or at least a "good enough journal"), but everything was either too expensive or just not good enough for the purpose I have in mind.

And today.. voila! My friend called me and gave me a brand new cute journal. Wowww... It's so cute, too! This is exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks, Jen!

On Lying..

2010-10-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

Lifehacker shows up with an article titled "How to Be an Effective Liar".

One comment cracks me up..

When I was a kid, I learned pretty quickly that the best way to lie is to tell the truth, but embellish it so much that it won't be believed.

"Did you have a party while your mother and I were gone?"

"Oh yeah! You missed out. It started out fairly small, but by the end, E! News showed up and the Goodyear blimp did a couple of flyovers. Luckily, Martha Stewart got the ankle tracker off, so she came out and helped us clean up afterwards. I'll make sure we take pictures next time."

Hahaha.. ^_^

On Typing...

2010-10-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Does people realize that:
1. misspelling a word makes them look uneducated, and
2. using shorthand in emails makes them look 5
??

Emails are NOT telegrams! You cannot save money by typing less characters in your emails, people! (I can understand if it's in SMS).

Ugh! (Just have to vent...) >_<

Looking Forward to Vacation

2010-09-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

After debating and thinking over about where to go for our vacation this year, Chris and I finally decided to go to Mexico. The place looks great, and the price is reasonable too, because we are going when people are coming back to work.

Ahhh.. I can't wait for January to be here...

When You're Wrong

2010-07-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

I love this song from "Paws and Tales". It's called When You're Wrong (You're Wrong). Listen to the chorus lines:

When you're wrong, you're wrong

No, you really can't deny it

When you're wrong, you're wrong

You can try and modify it

But you're wrong and all along

You think no good could come about

From it being pointed out

But when you're wrong, you're wrong

So we knew we should admit it

But we didn't quit the fight

There's no need to complicate it

There's no other way to state it

If you say that we were wrong

You would be right

When you're wrong, you're wrong

Learn your lesson and apply it

When you're wrong, you're wrong

You just got to humble pie it

When you're wrong, and we were wrong

But now we know it's good advice

For us to stop and recognize

That when you're wrong, you're wrong

So if ever you're corrected

You should not put up a fight

Simply learn to take direction

Without raising an objection

And instead of being wrong

You will be right

What a wonderful lesson. And of course, it's easier to sing it than to apply it. >_<

On a Monday Afternoon

2010-07-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Monday, 4.30 PM

Me: (shutting down computer)
My boss's boss: (walk past my cube, look at my bag, look at his watch)
Me: (but.. but.. )
My boss's boss: (keep walking..)
Me: (.. I came in early this morning...)

My boss's boss: (not even in my sight anymore)

Me: (...)
My inner self: Uhm.. can I leave now?

Exercising...

2010-07-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

After not exercising for quite some time (uhm.. years..), I decided to join the Core Crew meetings in the office. It's only twice a week, 30 minutes each. Really, it's not that long. How hard could it be?

5 minutes into the class:
Me: I.. ugh.. can't... ugh.. do.. ugh.. this.. ugh...
Instructor: Of course you can, you are doing great!
Me: I.. ugh.. feel.. ugh.. like.. ugh.. dying.. ugh..
My "neighbour": Yeah, I think I'd rather be fat.

My feelings exactly!

Amigurumi: Single Pea and Deadly Cute Ninja

2009-11-29T12:00:00.001-08:00

I think I was bitten by the craft bugs. Here's my next creation: the single pea (because making 3 of them in solid green is just too much for my eyes) and the deadly but cute ninja. Chris called them Peany and Ninji.

Peany, Dora, Ninji, and Mushy posing together

It's hard to see from this photo, but Ninji actually has a sling (in a slightly different color) around his body, and a mini ninja star.

And talk about proportion... the vegetables are larger than the cat and the person. Makes you wonder, isn't it?

Amigurumi: Mario Bros Mushroom

2009-11-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

I found out that I had a stash of acrylic yarns left (in the storage), and so I was looking around for patterns/stuff I can use them for. I ended up finding Amigurumi, and of course the pattern I wanted uses the colors of yarns I did not already have. I ended up buying another stash of acrylic yarns in different colors. Thankfully, Zellers had it on sale.

In any case, my first Amigurumi project was the Mario Bros Mushroom. I found out (too late), that I was doing the red part wrong. I crocheted from the back loop only, instead of from both loop. Hence, the "head" is taller than it's supposed to be. But since I didn't realize it until after the head was completed, I decided to leave it as it was.

Mushy

I gave this one to Chris, just because he wanted one. This became another addition to his "work buddies", as you can see below.

Chris's "Work Buddies"

But bad Chris! He made Mushy to be the bad guy (I think).

Chris called this scene "Revenge of the Fallen"

Hahaha... Although I think Mushy is too cute to be evil, I am happy Chris is having so much fun with his buddies.

First Knitting Project: Knitted Gridded Towel

2009-09-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

I admit it.. I am one of those short-attention-span people. I like doing lots of things and I enjoy variety.

Lately, I found out that my brain and my eyes work faster than my TV, and so I have several seconds every now and then to fill, while waiting for the actors to finish their sentences (not a very good habit, because after all, who knows what they are going to say). In any case, I (asked my dear husband to) dug out a box of crafts material from the storage, and started learning how to knit.

Several years back, I have bought knitting needles and the book on how to knit. I gave up learning when I couldn't even do a cast off. Learning from books was tricky. This time around, I was more prepared. I googled the video instead of buying books. Ha!

With the help of online videos and my dear friend, Vincy, I finally managed to finish my first knitting project, ever! It's a hand towel. Chris chose the colors, and I found the pattern online (yeay to open source projects!). My project is the mini version of the pattern, and instead of using 2 different colored yarns, I used multi-color yarns.

Not bad, if I say so myself. I finally understand what they mean by wrong side, right side, stitch, purl, slip, and binding off. And now, off to the next project...

Book Review: Ted Dekker's "BoneMan's Daughter"

2009-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

If you can save your family about by killing another innocent soul, what would you do? Whose life is more precious?

What if you can save your family by inflicting permanent damage to a bystandar? Will you do it? What price will you pay to protect your family?

BoneMan's Daughter follows the footsteps of a father whose daughter is held captive by a serial killer who is looking for the Perfect Daughter. When all the world believes him to be the kidnapper, whan can a father do to save his daughter from this serial killer? What price is he to pay to get her back?

A brilliant thriller/horror/adventure novel by Ted Dekker, this one is decidedly "darker" than his other writings. Following the minds of a tortured father and of a serial killer, this book takes your breath away with every turn of page, in pure Dekker's style. Until you can't help but think, "That's how much HE loves me!"

The Worst 'Bank' I've Ever Been In

2009-06-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I made a trip to open an account in a credit union close to my place. Technically, credit union is not a bank, I guess. But since I will only use their chequing/saving/money transfer services, the two places are very closely related in my mind. Btw, the money transfer service charged the least, hence the reason I wanted to do business here.

Anyway, the experience started well enough. The weather was sunny and I was wearing my sunglasses. Upon entering the premise, there was a sign to take off hats & sunglasses for safety precaution. Fair enough. I took off my sunglasses, and tried to put on my regular prescription glasses. While I was in the state of half-blind with my hands full, a woman came to me and asked me what I wanted to do there. I explained and she asked me for my documents right away.

I asked her for a moment to put on my glasses and store my car key etc in my bag first. "Of course," she said with a smile, and then kept shuffling her feet as if to hurry me. I was there about 1 hour before closing time.

She took my ID and asked me for my SIN. "Uhm... but I am only opening a chequing account, why do you need my SIN?" I asked. Even as international student with no SIN, I was able to open an account hassle-free before (obviously not in this 'bank'). It had something to do with their regulation, she answered. "So, if you don't have it, I am sorry but you cannot open an account here."

I was taken aback. Oh well.. I didn't have my card with me, but I had my number. I wondered if that would be enough. "Yes, if you know your number, we don't need to see the actual card," was her reply.

So I asked her to open an account for me. I had a cheque to deposit there. Next, she needed to see the cheque. Upon looking at it, she said that it would take 10 business days to clear. Since there are Canadian + USA Independence Day, it would take about 3 weeks, she said.

"Well, I need to transfer this money to another country," I told her. And quite calmly she said, "Oh, that would take another week to do. You are looking at a month here. If you don't like it, you might want to try other bank."

By this time, I was very very annoyed with this lady. I was starting to wonder if she was trying to get rid of me. I knew this was a ridiculous thought, especially in this economy, but it felt like that to me.

Note that I was still standing in front of the entrance by this time. 15 minutes had passed. I persisted in asking her what would happen in different scenarios, and since she didn't know the answers, she called the manager to handle me.

Ah, the manager, I thought. Surely he/she would be able to point me to the right direction in regards to what to do in my case.

A lady came and asked me again the same questions. And after a string of questions, "I am sorry but I think you should go to another bank," was her conclusion. I was trying to present different scenarios to make this work, since it could save me transfer fee. But by this time, I was starting to think that a higher fee might worth a friendlier service. It seemed like this 'bank' really didn't like me.

The manager was firm and adamant. "There is no way to make this work. Go to CIBC, or TD Bank," was her reply to all my proposed solutions. She stood up in the middle of the conversation and showed me the door. The moment I hit the entrance, she turned back and walked to her office. I was practically thrown out.

I have banked with a lot of banks, in different countries. Some don't have branches (online only), some don't have website (brick-and-mortar only), some have both. But every bank is glad to add another customer to their list. This was the first one that was happy to throw out a potential customer. I am still steaming mad thinking about it.

I usually did my insurance on this branch's insurance department. They are friendly. But I won't support a 'bank' that throws me out. I guess it's time to shop around again...

An Overbooked Weekend

2009-05-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

The weekend of Mother's Day 2009 was definitely one (fun and) overbooked weekend.

Planning for this weekend was started a couple months back, when we thought there were only the Youth Retreat to go to. We were part of the Youth Group for a long time, and even though we are past university age, we still would like to support their program. The place for the retreat was 3 hours away

No problem, it was only from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Plenty of time to sleep off the tiredness, and be fresh for Monday morning works. So we signed up without second thoughts.

Pemberton - our destination for Spring Fellowship 2009

Then my mom came and decided to stay until just after Mother's Day. Which meant that her flight was leaving on early hours of the Monday after. Which meant that we needed to get her to the airport around Sunday midnight.

Okay, going to the Retreat would mean leaving my mom without us for the whole weekend. But then my mom encouraged us to go. Yuli wasn't planning on going anyway, so she would be okay.

As for us, it would be a bit tiring to go to the airport after the long drive home from the Retreat. But it was not a bit problem for us. Our second plan for the weekend was booked.

GII mothers

When Vina emailed and said that she was having her wedding on Mother's Day, we knew our planning skill was put to a test. We would be 3 hours away from the city on Sunday morning. With her ceremony starting at 2 pm and her reception at 6.30 pm, we had just enough time to catch our breath before continuing on with the next part of the day. But we love Vina and would not miss her wedding for the world.

Vina and her sweetheart, Edward

After shuffling things around, we figured out that the only thing we could do to attend everything, was to leave the camp at 10 am, which would take us to the chapel in downtown in time for the ceremony, then rushing to church Sunday service at 4 in Burnaby (just in time to get those kids ready to sing for Mother's Day), and drive back to the reception area at 6.30 pm. Then we would drive to the airport straight from the reception. Yuli and mom would bring the luggage when they left the house Sunday morning.

Sunday School Choir sings "Cooperation" for Mother's Day

That was exactly what we did.

I am so glad that we attended everything we promised to, and all events were kinda fun (except the part where my mom had to leave us). It's been a while since I jam-packed so much activities in so little time.

It was an overbooked weekend, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Those times were too precious to miss.

Btw, reports on each of the event won't be here. I will post it on Chris's blog once he uploads all the photos necessary.

Free Tim Hortons Iced Coffee Tomorrow!

2009-05-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

For all coffee lovers (or Tim Hortons' Iced Coffee lovers), go and get your coffee shot of the day at Tim Hortons tomorrow!

On May 21, between 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm, get a FREE small Tim Hortons Iced Coffee!

Hmm... now I need to find out the nearest Tim Hortons around my office.

By the by, I am so glad this time the offer is for Canada, instead of the usual "USA Only" promotions.

Kindle DX Announced!

2009-05-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

As the rumor suggested, the new Kindle DX was announced this morning.

I am drooling over the big screen (still in the middle of reading a manga). It's also a good thing that they finally support PDF files.

But the almost-USD-500 tag price is working against it. I knew I wouldn't buy it before, but now I know with deeper conviction.

On another note, the Spring Fellowship is coming. I am so looking forward to it. And of course, Vina's wedding is up next after that. Do.. mi.. so... I need to make sure I hit the right notes when it matters.

In the meantime, Sony, hurry up and release a bigger screen e-reader, please!

Rumored Amazon Kindle DX

2009-05-05T09:34:00.001-07:00

Since yesterday morning, the internet has been buzzing with the rumored new Kindle DX that supposedly will have a 9.7 inch screen among other things. Engadget even has the leaked pictures (shown here).

I am not a big fan of Kindle, BUT a 9.7-inch-screen sounds wonderful. I wish Sony would release one that size as well.

Why would I want a 9.7-inch screen?

Well, for one, think about all those mangas I have downloaded (and printed on to PDF for reading on my Sony PRS-505). On 6-inch screen, it is a bit small to read especially when I am sleepy. I need to change the display to display only half a page at a time to read comfortably.

A regular manga has 4-12 volumes, at 130-190 pages per volume. That's a lot of page turns, especially at half-a-page a turn. The waiting time to turn sometimes exceed the reading time. A 9.7-inch screen will enable me to read my mangas comfortably again.

I have also started to collect technical books for my work and other managerial books. On a bigger screen, it will look just like it's meant to be.

In conclusion, I can't wait for Amazon to announce or release this device, if only so that Sony would hurry up and do it too.

Cleaning with Vinegar

2009-03-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

This is my third speech on the ToastMaster club. More information about the topic can be found here.

Cleaning with Vinegar

Some things in life are unavoidable. Tax is one of them. Cleaning is another one. If we neglect to file our tax, the government will come knocking on our door. If we don’t do cleaning, our house will be messy and full of bacteria and viruses.

When it comes to cleaning, a lot of cleaning products are available out there. But believe it or not, the title “The Perfect Household Cleaners” is hold by vinegar. This is the same vinegar that we use for cooking. Households around the country have proven the effectiveness of vinegar.

Vinegar is surprisingly effective, when compared to other cleaners. It is an 'all-in-one cleaner,' so there is no need to buy specific cleaners for different purposes. Vinegar is good for cleaning kitchen surfaces, sink, bathtubs, toilet, ceramic tiles, appliances, painted walls, floors, messy microwave, top of the fridge, and other solid surfaces. It can also be used to shine mirrors, glass, stainless steel, and chrome, to remove unpleasant odors, and to remove stains from clothes.

Vinegar is non-toxic, so there is no fear of breathing harmful chemicals while cleaning. It is a natural organic bi-product of vegetables and grains. It is therefore edible and biodegradable. If in the course of normal household cleaning you 'pour it down the drain', its impact on municipal sewer and water treatment systems is just like any food product. It is very safe for the environment, for family members, especially those with asthma, and around young children.

Vinegar is economical, much less expensive than other cleaners. You can buy a big jug of vinegar and use it for a long time. The shelf life of vinegar is almost indefinite, according to The Vinegar Institute’s research studies. Because of vinegar's acid nature, it is self-preserving and does not need refrigeration. When an opened vinegar is let sit for a long time, sometimes you can see changes in color or development of sediment. This is, however, only an aesthetic change. The product can still be used with confidence.

Vinegar is also gentle on hands, so there is no need to wear rubber gloves.

Now, what about the smell of cleaning of vinegar? Vinegar does have a distinct odor that some find unpleasant. But it is a clean smell and it dissipates quickly. Some have suggested mixing peppermint oil to counter the smell.

In the course of cleaning, sometimes we you accidentally spray our eyes with the cleaning solution. Vinegar will sting your eyes if sprayed directly into them, so direct contact with eyes should be avoided. However, vinegar will not cause any short or long-term damage to your eyes.

To start cleaning using vinegar, put distilled white vinegar in a trigger-spray bottle. Spray it on the surface you want to clean. Let sit for several minutes, wipe with a paper towel, and that’s it. Vinegar cleans streak free, so there is no need to rinse after cleaning.

I hope I have convinced you to start cleaning using vinegar. I have prepared a short handout of how to clean using vinegar, and I wish you will try some of these methods. Your wallet will thank you. Your environment will thank you. And your family will thank you.

Audio Book Review: Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time

2009-03-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the AudioBook library on BC Online Libraries, I started borrowing audiobooks more often. I found it very handy, especially since my commute takes about 45 minutes one-way every day.

The audiobook I recently listened to was Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time: The Revolutionary New Language Instruction Method That's Proven to Work!.

As the name implies, this book teaches Japanese for total beginners. The tape runs for 3 hours in 3 CD's. It begins with a story where the listener is a tourist in a Japan amusement park. As it turns out, the park is taken over by a group of Flower Ranger fans, that are angry because their favorite show is canceled. The listener's mission is to find out these fans' plan and prevent it from happening.

The story is quite amusing, and each "to be continued" section stirs the curiosity to know more about the story. The Japanese lessons themselves are arranged to suit English speakers best. With stories to accompany vocabularies, it makes it easier to remember Japanese words. For example, for body parts in Japanese session, the book tells the adventure of a girl called Ata. Remembering the story actually makes it easier to remember the Japanese words phonetically.

Of course, as with any audiobook, the downside of this is that you won't learn the writing of Japanese language. But the speaking and listening side is actually not bad. I found myself remembering more and more vocabulary only by listening to the whole tape once.

I would recommend this tape for any English speakers who would like the basic of daily life speaking in Japanese. You won't understand a school lecture any better, but at least you will be able to ask direction to the nearest washroom by the time you finish this book.

My rating: 3 stars out of 5

The Origin of the Temple of Prambanan

2009-03-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

I joined the Toastmaster Club at my work, and here is my speech number 2. The purpose of the speech is to have a good speech organization, with an opening, a body, and a conclusion.

Since it took me a long time to organize this speech, I might as well post it on my blog. Note that this is a trimmed down version of the legend, with some parts edited out to avoid cultural confusion (and to fit the speech into a 5-7 minute window).

The Origin of the Temple of Prambanan

(also known as "The Legend of Bandung Bondowoso")

When you look on any of the wonderful architecture, have you ever wondered who built them, for what purpose they were built, and the stories behind the construction? Indonesia has a lot of lakes, temples, mountains, and beaches, and each of them has its own story. Each of these stories teaches its audiences a lesson in life.

Today, I am going to tell you the story about controlling your temper, and of a temple called Prambanan.

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Prambanan. The people of Prambanan lived happily and harmoniously. But this harmony did not last for very long. A neighbouring kingdom called Pengging attacked them. The Pengging ruler, Bandung Bondowoso, was very skillful in the art of war. He killed the king of Prambanan, and under his command, Pengging took over Prambanan.

Bandung Bondowoso was a cruel ruler. Anyone who dare to speak against him was executed immediately. The people were afraid of him and would not dare to refuse his requests.

One day, Bandung Bondowoso saw a very beautiful girl. He fell in love with the girl, only to find out that she was the princess of Prambanan. She was the daughter of the man he killed. But he wanted her. So he approached her and asked her to marry him.

The princess was surprised and annoyed. "This man has no manner," she thought. "He killed my father, and now out of the blue, he wanted to marry me?" She disliked him, but was afraid to refuse his proposal. So she thought out a plan to discourage Bandung's affection.

"I would be happy to marry you under one condition," the princess said. "You must build me 1,000 temples within a night. I love temples, and 1,000 temples would prove to the world and to me that you really do love me."

Bandung Bondowoso agreed to the condition, and he immediately gathered all the supplies and the equipments to build 1,000 temples. Now, Bandung knew mere human could not build 1,000 temples in a night. But he had a mystical power. He ruled over an army of djihnns.

When the dusk came, he summoned the djihnns and commanded them to build the 1,000 temples. The djihnns went to work immediately, and with unbelievable speed, more and more temples were built in just a few hours.

The princess was crestfallen when she saw this. She did not wish to marry Bandung. So she gathered all her servants and the ladies of the village. "Help me," she said. "Please beat the bamboo drums as loudly as you can, as you usually do." The ladies did as the princess wished.

The roosters heard the bamboo drums, and crowed loudly, since the ladies always beat the drums in the morning. Hearing the roosters' crow, the djihnns thought that dawn was coming. They were afraid of the sunlight, and fled to avoid the morning light.

Bandung counted the temples and found 999 temples ready. He was 1 temple away from being able to marry the princess. He was angry that the djihnns ran away before finishing their work. But when he saw the princess, still beating the bamboo drums, he was enraged at her trickery.

"You asked for 1,000 temples," Bandung said. "Here I have 999 temples, and may you be the thousandth one," he cursed and pointed at the princess. To his amazement and regret, the princess turned into stone. His moment of anger caused irreparable damage.

Today, if you visit the temple of Prambanan in Indonesia, please make sure to look for a lone statue of the princess -- cold, but still beautiful. And when you find it, remember that angers could cost you far more than you are willing to pay, and learn to control your emotion.

Adobe Digital Editions & OverDrive Media Console

2009-03-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

I recently found the site for British Columbia Online Library, where members of BC library can borrow the electronic versions of books. These do not include CD or DVD, but includes a sizable selection of ebooks (in DRM'ed PDF format) and audiobooks (in DRM'ed mp3/wma). The DRM is there to ensure that the files "expire" after the checkout duration (21 days for ebooks; 14 days for audiobooks).

Because the e-books and audiobooks are DRM-ladden, special softwares are needed before enjoying them.

The e-books require Adobe Reader version 6 or 7 with Adobe Digital Editions. This is quite troublesome, since my computer has the latest version of Adobe Reader (version 9), and it wouldn't work with version 9. I cannot install previous version without removing version 9.

So I need to take these steps:
1. Uninstall Reader 9
2. Install Reader 7
3. Install Adobe Digital Editions
4. Authorizing my computer to read the DRM books (by registering and logging in with Adobe username/password)
5. To enable reading those books on my PRS-505, I authorized my device as well (via Digital Editions, while connected to the computer).

This process is quite straight-forward and error-free. Oh, and I need to add that afterwards, I re-install Reader 9, and it doesn't affect the functionalities of the Digital Editions. I am still able to download/transfer the ebook files.

The audiobooks require OverDrive Media Console. Installing it is quite easy. But then it gives me an error everytime I try to download the audiobooks. "A problem has occured in retrieving the digital rights management machine identification," the pop-up window says. How frustrating!!

After googling around, I find a solution to this problem:
1. Open “Control Panel”.
2. Open “Folder Options” and select the “View” tab.
3. Select “Show hidden files and folders”.
4. Un-check “Hide protected operating system files”.
5. In the warning message you receive, click “Yes”.
6. Click “OK”.
7. Close the Control Panel.
8. Rename the DRM folder to DRM.old
Depending on your OS, it can be found in different locations:
- Windows 2000 and XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ DRM
- Windows 98: C:\Windows\All Users\DRM
- Windows ME: C:\Windows\DRM
9. Close this window and open OverDrive Media Console.
10. Go to “Tools > Windows Media Player Security Upgrade”.
11. Attempt to download an OverDrive Audio Book.

Now I can download the audiobooks and transfer them to my MUVO MP3 player.

Book Review: Enid Blyton's Secret Series

2009-03-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

Growing up reading Enid Blyton's books, I am really pleased to find this series again. I set down to read them and was transported back to my childhood times. I knew these books are geared toward young readers, and I was prepared to capture only a portion of the magic I remembered.

To my surprise, I still found them very entertaining. The story is set in England on early 20th century. However, the thrill of these adventures does not lessen, even if I am reading them in the 21st century.

The first book in the series is The Secret Island, which tells of the first adventure the children had. Mike, Nora, and Peggy are treated badly by their aunt and uncle after their parents went missing for 2 years. Their friend, Jack, is not better off, with his parents both passed away. Jack finds a secret island, and the children then plan their escape from the home life they cannot stand.

The second book, The Secret of Spiggy Holes tells of the children's vacation on a coast where smugglers used to roam and trade. Surely there won't be any smuggling going on now on these days now, will it?

In The Secret Mountain, the children are off to find their missing parents. They are in a strange land with the people whose language they don't understand. How will they survive this ordeal?

The Secret of Killimooin tells about the adventures the children are having in a foreign land called Baronia. A journey that starts with a simple vacation plan turns into a more heartbeat-raising pace when they encounter unexplainable phenomenons in this faraway country.

When their friend's parents decide to vacation in England, the search for an appropriate vacation home (a.k.a. castle) is on. Dozens of choices are discarded, and then they discover the Moon Castle. But why are the caretakers trying so hard to prevent them from renting it? What could The Secret of Moon Castle be?

All five books are delightful to read. I highly recommend them for beginner readers.

Worried

2009-02-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

I know intellectually that worry solves nothing.

But I am worried. About the things that are out of my hands.

And I am sad, because it involves people, and I can't do anything about it.

I am starting to believe that helplessness is the root of all worries. Hhhh...

Sony Reader PRS-505 Shortcuts

2009-01-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

I just found shortcuts for PRS-505:

Hold down the “size” button for five seconds to rotate the screen.

Duh! I should have known there will be shortcut for this one. This makes reading mangas a lot easier, with much less clicks.

Hold the “Page Forward” or “Back” button for five seconds and the page will jump 10 pages in the direction of the button.

This is something useful to browse through the book looking for that section that is stuck in my mind.

I am not sure if these shortcuts would work on PRS-500 or PRS-700, but I would assume so. If you have one of those models, give it a try and drop me a line.

Related links:
- E-book Reader: Sony PRS-505
- Another E-book Reader: Sony PRS-700

Pulpit Banner

2009-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

For more than 20 years, my church has used our parent organization symbol as our logo. But finally, we have our own logo, by the design talent of cik Dhania.

The yellow part is the Bible, upon which God's will is revealed. The blue part is fire as well as the dove, a representation of the Holy Spirit, symbolizes our zeal in the work for Him, and the ever-presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Cik Ling-Ling, our seamstress made a pulpit banner based on this logo.

Doesn't it look cool?

An Extra Second Before New Year

2008-12-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

Do you know we will have an extra second inserted on Dec 31? Make sure you adjust your clock accordingly, or you'll be celebrating New Year 1 second too early.

I am not kidding!

Timekeepers at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich will be adding a "leap second" of time to the clock on Wednesday, a method used sporadically over the past 30 years to offset the fractional slowing of the Earth's rotation.

The extra second will be squeezed in on Dec. 31 after 6:59:59 p.m. and before 7 p.m. ET. Combined with the extra day on Feb. 29, the extra second will make 2008 the longest year since 1992.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

May the reason for this season be with you throughout the year!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas
A Christmas Poem by Pastor Jim Kamerer

'Twas the night before Christmas and as I looked round my tent,
I couldn't believe all the money I'd spent
For trains and dolls, for trinkets and toys
Some for the girls and some for the boys.

I looked round once more to be sure things were right;
The kids were all in bed for the night.
I set up the track for the train I bought Ted,
The train went round twice and the battery went dead.

I put on my cap, my gloves, and my coat;
I went to Ames and over to Zayre.
You guess it my friend, no batteries there!
As I left the store a thought came to me,

I had one in the remote of the color TV.
Well, I placed that remote in my wife's favorite chair
I was ready for Christmas with hours to spare.
When out came my wife and punched that remote

And then said to me, "The TV's broke!"
So on with the coat, the gloves, and the cap
Out in the cold about ready to snap.
I went to K-Mart and stood in that line

From 8:35 'til a quarter past nine.
As I came to the checkout, my heart leaped with glee --
There was that one lonesome battery just waiting for me.
When from my behind I seen this hand slip
And grab that battery with a real tight grip.

I wheeled around and what did I see?
This giant of a man glaring down at me.
Well, I remembered an ad I had seen on TV
Buy a Big Mac, get your batteries free.

So, I bought me a burger I didn't want...
They were out of batteries, so on with hunt.
I finally found one at Servi-Star,
Paid for my purchase and made for my car.

When I entered the door of my humble shack,
My wife said, "What's this battery for I found in a sack?"
I was out there in the press, the push, and the greed
To buy me a battery I didn't even need.

At last I relaxed in my easy chair,
When this still small voice came out of somewhere.
"You're ready for Christmas with toys, tinsel, and tree
You've got it all together, but what about me?"

I fell on my knees and cried, "God, what have I done?"
I got caught up in the madness and neglected your Son.

The best gift of all you've given for free
Your Son, Jesus Christ, for sinners like me.
You sent Him to suffer the shame and the loss,
To shed his life's blood for me on the cross.

Well friend, I'll never forget ere I rest 'neath the sod,
The the greatest of gifts if given by God.

Oh What Fun...

2008-12-15T14:52:00.001-08:00

The forecast for upcoming weekend is looking wonderful... 2-4 cm of snow with a low of -7C and a high of -3C, plus 10 kph wind.

It will be breezy for sure.. just in time for the Indonesian Society Christmas.

Oh what fun!

List of Books My Family Wants to Read

2008-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Indonesians are not known for their love of books. But luckily for us, our mother is a bookworm and our father is a student-at-heart-for-life. So their children inherit a love for books.

The following is a list of books my brother wants to read:

And my sister's book list:

From angku Fendy's:

From Chris:

I haven't read most of the books, but it would be interesting to know what they are all about. Looking at the list, though, I realize that our family has a very diverse interests; everyone is interested about something unique.

Oh well, I just hope the future generations will still like reading.

Another E-book Reader: PRS-700

2008-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

3 weeks after I got my first e-book reader, the PRS-505, Sony released a new e-book reader, the PRS-700.

At first glance, this looks really promising. The loading time is way better than the old model. For my collection of 175 books on SD card, it takes 6 seconds to load. In PRS-505, it takes 12 seconds. Page turns take half the time compared to 505.

It has a touch screen capability. Which means you have more ways to turn a page. Also, thanks to this ability, you can do search and highlight passages on the book you are reading. It comes with stylus, but using fingers will be as effective.

Another thing I love is the buttons. The new PRS-700 has "back" button, "next" and "previous" page button, "home", "search", "zoom", and "option".

The "home" button is really useful. Using PRS-505, when I want to switch between books, it takes anywhere between 5-10 clicks. Now, thanks to this "home" button, it cuts down the click to between 2-5.

In PRS-505, if I want to see the Table of Contents, I need to "close the book", find the "table of contents", and click on the relevant entry. And if you change your mind half way, you need to click as many time to get back to your old position. Well, no more of that. The "option" button makes the option to see/create/edit bookmarks/notes hovers. So click on that button, then tap on the option you want, and off you go. And if you decide to just continue reading your book from the previous position, a simple tap will bring you back.

Now, PRS-700 can do search and make notes. We need to clarify what it means by "search" and "notes".

If you are looking at your bookshelf, the "search" will search the term on the title of the book only. It wouldn't search the text within the book. I am not sure if it searches the author of the book. If you are reading the book, then search will search the text within that particular book.

And "notes" does not mean you can type your own notes. Nope. By "creating notes", it means that you are highlighting the text on your book, and if you go to the notes menu, all your highlights are displayed there, along with your bookmarks. This is probably the most confusing feature for me.

In total darkness, PRS-700 works like a charm. It comes with 2-setting lights that lights the screen nicely. The light is emitted from the left and right side of the screen. As a result, the text in the middle of the page is not as lighted-up as the side texts, but it's readable enough.

You do have to watch out your angle, though. If the light hits your eyes directly, you will see black spots before long.

Of course, if you use the lights, the battery will die faster. It only allows me to read 3-5 books of moderate length (Arsene Lupin Collection). With PRS-505 (no light), it took me about 1 week before I have to charge the battery. And I read extensively (4-5 hours a day).

Unfortunately, under general lighting, this one is worse than the previous model. It reflects lights, which means reading under the sun is a total no-no. You can see the reflection on the bottom left corner on the picture on the side.

And the deal-breaker is the contrast. PRS-505's white is light beige, and its black is black. For PRS-700, sadly, its white is a shade darker beige, and its black is grey. Which makes reading very tiring. I tried reading exclusively on PRS-700 for 1 day, and I can't survive. And that was only regular book with zoomed-in texts, not manga with super small fonts.

But I did get to learn new features with this model. Their "book collection" is prominently displayed on their home page, and that is one thing I love. Thankfully, I found out that even my PRS-505 has this capability. Now I can group my books by series such as "Sherlock Holmes", "Arsene Lupin", "The Three Investigators", etc. Note that grouping the books can only be done via Sony software on your PC. It's the same for both PRS-505 and PRS-700.

And since the light is so useful, I ended up buying a cover with lights for the 505 instead.

[photo to follow]

The light cover does not blur the texts, nor does it gray the texts out. It does reflect light, but you can just not use it with enough lights, and use it only in the darkness.

Oh, and did I mention that the external lights work better, even compared to the built-in lights in PRS-700? It uses 2 AAA batteries, too, so it doesn't suck your e-book battery power.

The PRS-505 costs $299 + tax
The cover with light costs $59 + tax
The PRS-700 costs $399 + tax

For me, 505 + external light combination is the most beneficial one for my need. I don't need fancy touch screen. And although it's annoying to click several times to get to where I want to, I can live with it. And the loading time and page-turning time does not bother me at all. That's why I refunded the PRS-700 and stick with 505 for now.

I know I am being picky with this review. But I am trying to get the biggest bang for my bucks, so to speak. Everyone has different needs, though. So think about what you want before committing yourself to one.

Hope this helps for those who are considering one!

Related links:
- E-book Reader: Sony Reader PRS-505
- Sony Reader Shortcuts

The Little Man Who Wasn't There

2008-11-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

I love random quotations and out-of-context sayings. It just opens up endless possibilities as to the context and the circumstances of the sayings.

Today, a quoted poem from an American poet and educator Hughes Mearnes caught my eye:

As I was walking up the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today.
I wish, I wish he'd stay away.

This is exactly the kind of poem that triggers imaginations. I was intrigued by the non-existent of the person that the writer wrote about. But after I think about it more, this is quite a creepy poem, probably belongs in the opening scene of a horror movie somewhere.

PS: The above poem is called Antigonish, or better known as The Little Man Who Wasn't There

E-book Reader

2008-11-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

I love reading. Specifically, I love reading fictions and mangas. Unfortunately, most mangas I like are not available in Canada. Fortunately, most of them are scanned and translated into English by their Japanese-reading fans. So there are lots of them online, if you know where to look for them.

Having lots of manga jpgs means that I can collect the ones I like. But since they are not real books, it's kinda hard to re-read the mangas I have. I don't have a desktop, and the LCD monitor hurts my eyes once I stare at it for a long time.

Knowing my addiction for books (and mangas), we did some research and decided to buy Sony Reader PRS-505. Yup, I got the red one. The reader acts like a glossy-paper book. So even under sunshine, you can read it without difficulties (supposedly... I cannot test this with Vancouver's weather).

Some people ask me why I don't buy Amazon Kindle. If you live in USA, you can search books on Amazon.com for free from anywhere (no wireless charge). You can also buy the e-book version of released books for cheaper.

But for me, one major drawback is that Kindle only reads 1 type of data, and that is Amazon's own data encryption. If you have pdf or word or jpg, you need to email them to Amazon for conversion. And if you want Amazon to email the converted files directly to Kindle, then you have to pay for the data transfer.

Sony Reader can read pdf, txt, epub, jpg, bmp, and png files. Of course, with 6-inch monitor, we didn't know how good the manga quality would be -- whether it would be readable or not. So we went and bought one for testing.

The manga is readable. It might be a bit on the small size, but for me, it's good enough. We found out that the reader refresh faster when turning a pdf file compared to loading new jpg. So I print all mangas into pdf file.

If you have pdf words, those words can be zoomed (there are 3 sizes available). But pdf images cannot be zoomed. So the mangas need to be single-paged (portrait).

Sony Reader does not read .doc file. That's understandable, since .doc files depend on Microsoft OS. So I print the Word document into pdf format using Primo PDF. I have mentioned before that pdf words can be zoomed in. However, the format of the zoomed in page changes and is unpredictable. I like my book display to be neat. So when printing the document into pdf, I changed the original format to the following:
- Paper Size = 8.5 x 11 (default Letter size)
- Margin = 0.25" for all Top, Bottom, Left, Right
- Font = Arial Rounded MT Bold, 22 pt
The settings above will allow me to read the files without having to zoom in.

A side note. When printing with Primo PDF, you need to change the Document Properties (Title and Author). Sony Reader does not read your filename to determine Title and Author. It reads the properties instead. These properties cannot be changed once you have the pdf file.

Yesterday, I borrowed e-book from the library. The e-book is in protected form; it has expiry dates etc. I couldn't figure out how to transfer the borrowed book to my reader, though. The reader gives me a "protected file" error. I will try again to see if I can find a solution for this.

This reader also plays MP3 and AAC files via headset. The quality of the sound is ok. I haven't tried it extensively, since it will drain the battery faster. (According to the specification, the battery will last for 7,500 page turns).

I would love to have a 7-inch screen one if one is available. As of now, all e-book readers have 6-inch screen though. Also, the page-turning time is a bit slow. But overall, I am satisfied with this reader.

Next week, Sony will release a new generation of Sony Reader, the PRS-700. This one comes with touch screen and an improved software, among other things. According to one review, the page turn is faster (it acts like a regular LCD screen). Chris is hooked on the "touch screen" part. I want to try the LCD-like page-turns. We plan to test and compare both of them before making a final decision in which one to keep.

Related links:
- Another E-book Reader: Sony PRS-700
- Sony Reader Shortcuts

Canadian Election Coming Up!

2008-10-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Next Tuesday, 14 October 2008, is election day for Canada. If you are a Canadian citizen, don't forget to go and vote.

We can make a difference in the way a nation is going, and it all starts with a vote. So do your part and vote!

Tax-Free Saving Account in ING DIRECT

2008-10-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

A while back, the government of Canada suddenly realized that Canadians did not save their money as much as they hoped. So, to goad Canadians into saving, they introduced the Tax-Free Saving Account (TFSA) that basically allows up to $5,000 per year contribution to grow tax-free.

How the TFSA Works

Starting in 2009, Canadians aged 18 and older can save up to $5,000 every year in a TFSA.
Contributions to a TFSA will not be deductible for income tax purposes but investment income, including capital gains, earned in a TFSA will not be taxed, even when withdrawn.
Unused TFSA contribution room can be carried forward to future years.
You can withdraw funds from the TFSA at any time for any purpose.
The amount withdrawn can be put back in the TFSA at a later date without reducing your contribution room.
Neither income earned in a TFSA nor withdrawals will affect your eligibility for federal income-tested benefits and credits.
Contributions to a spouse’s TFSA will be allowed and TFSA assets can be transferred to a spouse upon death.

This program will take into effect starting 1 January 2009. But ING DIRECT offers them now!

If you open a TFSA account with ING DIRECT now, you can contribute up to $5,000 (for this year), and at the end of the year, they will double your interest to cover for the tax. Your $5,000 will get tax-free interest (at 3% annual as of now) starting this year.

If you are thinking about opening a new ING DIRECT account, I would encourage you to use this Orange (referral) Key: 17472847S1. This way, if you deposit $100 or more for your initial deposit, you will get an instant $13 bonus. Quite a good deal, right?

PS: If you haven't heard of ING DIRECT before, these are the very basic introduction to them. They are by no means complete, so please do additional research before you commit anything.

This is an online bank (i.e., no ATM, no branches, no offices).
There is no fee and no service charge for any accounts.
They have decent customer service (according to my friend, a long-time ING customer)
You need to have another bank's chequing account before opening an ING DIRECT account. When you make your first deposit using your existing account's cheque, ING will link your ING account with your chequing account.

Do-Not-Call List Going Live!

2008-09-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Do-Not-Call List that I wrote about is going live this morning. You can register by calling the toll free number at 1-866-580-3625 or 1-888-362-5889 (for the hearing impaired). Alternatively, you can also visit their website, LNNT-DCNLgc.ca

Expect to be put on hold for a long time, or a very slow page loading, though. The website and phone lines are overwhelmed.

PS: You might also be interested in ioptout for opting out from hundreds of organizations contacts.

iGoogle - part 2

2008-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yu huu, my old iGoogle is back (on Firefox)!

For those who do not know it, Google launched a new iGoogle and decided to put my account among the first adapters. I hated it.

Keyboard Shortcut in Remote Desktop Connection (RDC)

2008-08-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

When you start RDC, you can choose whether you want it to run in full screen mode or not. On the RDC connection window, click on "Options" -> "Display". For full screen mode, slide the remote desktop size option to the max, until it says Full Screen. Do not select your monitor resolution, as the RDC would then start in window mode.

Running in full screen mode will allow you using the same keyboard shortcuts as you usually use. ALT+TAB will shift between applications on the remote computer. START+D will show the desktop of the remote computer etc.

Which is great, but that means that the shortcuts won't work between our local computer and the remote one. We can always use a mouse, but programmers generally prefer keyboard shortcuts. So, how do we set so that the shortcuts work even when we are on RDC?

For our normal shortcuts to work, RDC must be just another application. So it needs to be in non-full-screen mode. To change back and forth between full-screen and window RDC, use CTRL+ALT+PAUSE or CTRL+ALT+BREAK. When the RDC is in window mode, the ALT+TAB wills shift between the RDC window and our local window applications.

When in window mode, there are some shortcuts that can help us navigate the remote desktop smoother. Here are some common ones.

ALT+PAGE_UP
switches between applications from left to right (on the remote desktop);
equivalent to ALT+TAB in normal shortcuts.
ALT+PAGE_DOWN
switches between applications from right to left (on the remote desktop);
equivalent to ALT+SHIFT+TAB.
ALT+HOME
displays the start menu;
equivalent to START key.
CTRL+ALT+END
brings up the Window Security dialog box;
equivalent to CTRL+ALT+DEL.
CTRL+ALT+BREAK
switches the RDC between full screen mode and window mode

Now, how do you restart a remote computer? Generally, it's not allowed. And even if you have the permission to do so, the Shutdown option for the remote computer is usually disabled.

To restart/shutdown a remote computer:
1. Bring up the command windows (Start -> Run -> type "cmd")
2. Type "shutdown -r" to restart or "shutdown -s" to shutdown.
Note: Typing "shutdown" will give you an information about different options you have. It won't shutdown the remote computer yet.

Engaged for a Year

2008-08-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

A year ago today, my sister and I got engaged (to our respective boyfriends, of course).

Since then, I have got married, and my sister has set a date for her wedding. Lots of our other friends got married as well, and some welcomed their firstborns to their family.

It's mind-blowing how everyone seems to grow up nowadays. And to think we used to worry about our exam grades not too long ago...

Seigi no Mikata

2008-08-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ilove Japanese dramas. In addition to being funny and (sometimes) manga-like, it has a limit on the number of episodes as well, usually 9-12. No 50+ episodes for Japanese drama. You can safely bet that you get to see the ending of a story.

Anyway, I am in the middle of watching Seigi no Mikata: a story of an "evil" older sister and a "bullied" younger sister (of course this is told from the younger sister's point of view). "Seigi no Mikata" literally translates to "Ally of Justice". This term referes to, surprisingly, the older sister in this movie. Apparently, by doing something completely selfish (and sometimes downright evil), the older sister actually manages to make other people's lives better. Ha!

It's quite a funny story. Of course, as with any other Japanese dramas, we watch this one because:
1. the story is interesting enough
2. the actresses are pretty (we are following Shida Mirai from Sapuri, Tantei Gakuen Q, and now this one)
3. the actors are handsome/cute (though he's a bit young, we adore Hongo Kanata)

Actually, seeing this movie makes me a bit nostalgic, simply because Hongo Kanata resembles one of my friends from my birth city. And Kanata is a model! I guess that means that my friend could have been a model as well?

The Quintuple Eight

2008-08-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

Have you heard? Clay Aiken's son was born earlier today, 08 August 2008, at 08.08 am. That's a lot of 8's.

Chrisye and Project Pop - Bur-Kat PV

2008-08-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Found this on youtube today. I love Project Pop. I very much enjoy the comedy in their songs.

Let me attempt to translate this song:

Him:
There is a sweet girl I have known for a long time
Her smile is cute, I remember it very well
If she grins, her beauty lasts; if she cries, it itches me
I fall in love, now everyday I am keeping up appearance
When we meet, I stutter "you are beautiful"

Friends:
If you really ca-ca-ca-cannot hold it
Prepare yourself to sa-sa-sa-say it
Confess quickly, you should say it quickly
Confess quickly, you should say it quickly

Him:
I thought about this for a long time
Men has to be brave to confess
"We are good friends,
But I always carry a torch for you"
Rather than keep on wondering
It's better to make an experiment

Friends:
Grab your chance quickly
Before others confess to her

Friends:
If you really ca-ca-ca-cannot hold it
Prepare yourself to sa-sa-sa-say it
Confess quickly, you should say it quickly
Confess quickly, you should say it quickly

Her:
In reality, I love you too
In reality, I like you too
But do not put your home on me
Let us keep on being..

Him:
Stop! Do not continue your words to me
Hey!

Him:
Forget it, forget it, forget all that I say
Forget it, forget it, forget all that I say
Just kidding, just kidding, I was only kidding with you
Just kidding, just kidding, I was only kidding with you
Happy, happy, I am still happy
Happy, happy, I am still happy

Funny song, isn't it?

Harry Potter Movie 6 Trailer

2008-07-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

The next installment of Harry Potter Movie will be out this November. The trailer is released today. You can view it below, or go to moviefone for the HD version.

Enjoy!

Do-Not-Call List for Canada

2008-07-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Finally!! On Sept 30, 2008, the natinal do-not-call list will officially begin operating. It means, I can opt never (for a period of 3 years) to receive any calls from telemarketer anymore (who seems to call during dinner time, movie time, or even bed time).

There are two ways to be on this do-not-call list. You need to either call Bell Canada, or register online at www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca. The telemarketers have 30 days grace period, which means you will probably still get calls during the month of October. But after that, they will be fined if you complain about it.

The list only lasts for 3 years, so you need to re-register every 3 years. But triennial-5-minute efforts of inputting all your phone numbers on the website will prevent countless unwanted calls to your phone. So I say it's worth it.

As usual with any rules, there are exceptions. Charities, political parties, polling firms, newspapers and companies that have done business with an individual over the past 18 months can continue to make unsolicited phone calls.

But there is hope yet. In March, an internet law professor at the University of Ottawa set up a website, www.ioptout.ca. The site has a database that allows users to choose from the hundreds of organizations (including the ones on the exception list above) and send them an automated e-mail removal request.

If you are the type of person who just cannot say "No, I am not interested," and hang up, you probably should register as well.

PS: The logo is for American Do-Not-Call List. Can't find one for Canada yet.

Earthquake

2008-07-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, Southern California experienced a 5.4 magnitude earthquake. Apparently, it lasted for about 7-8 minutes, with several aftershocks up to 3.8 magnitude to follow afterwards.

Since I first arrived, I have been told that Canada (and Vancouver specifically) is long overdue for another big earthquake that is supposed to happen once every 100 years. The 100th years was several decades ago, so we would have one very soon.

That was 9 years ago, and here we are, still no major earthquake to speak of. I started to believe that it would never happen after all. Although statistics have proven otherwise, it's hard to imagine something that life-changing will happen in my lifetime, or ever.

The California earthquake reminds me that, yes, it can happen, and it can happen anytime, even during my so-far-uneventful life. Just because I don't see it, or don't think about it, or don't prepare for it, doesn't mean that it will wait until I'm ready. Just because I forget about it, doesn't mean it will quietly go away. The best I can do is not to pretend it won't happen, but to prepare for it.
This event also reminds me of another life-changing event that will happen someday: the Second Coming of Jesus. Living my daily life, sometimes I can't help but wondering if He will come, if ever. 2,000 years seems more than enough time to prepare rooms for us up there. But my feeling and my thoughts are irrelevant. Whatever I think, it doesn't change the fact that Jesus promised He will come again. Whether I am ready or not, He is coming.

For those who are concerned with earthquake, BC Government has prepared a checklist for preparing for earthquake in BC. It is a valuable tool for anyone who doesn't want to be caught unprepared.

For those who are concerned with the second coming of Jesus, here's some materials to get you started. Don't be left behind.

Entrepreneurship and Time

2008-07-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Flexo from Consumerism Commentary asked a good question today: Can you be an entrepreneur in your spare time?

There are strong arguments for maintaining a relatively secure job while laying the groundwork for your own business. With a stable income, you can fund your endeavors. With benefits from your day job, you don't have to worry about making enough money from your side work to support you if you encounter medical emergencies.

On the other hand, there are some reasons why you can't be a successful entrepreneur if all you can devote to the business is your spare time. The more aggressive your goals, the more risk you must be willing to take.

Hah! I am averse to risk myself. I like the idea of me being a risk-taker and reap benefits of the challenges I take. But in reality, I like the consistent and the familiars. I guess that's the reason I am not an entrepreneur myself.

Flexo then continues to argue that while trying to launch a successful business, don't expect to have more time with your family.

One of the main reasons people say they would like to become an "entrepreneur" is that it would allow them to spend more time with family. That may be fine if your intent is to sell products made by someone else on eBay but if you are trying to build a unique business that provides an original product or service or if you are trying to be the best at what you do, you will have less time for friends and family than you had when all you had to worry about was your day job.

This last bit of information seems to be counter-intuitive. If you work for yourself, won't you have control over your work time? After all, you are answerable only to yourself.

But then again, when I see Chris, I can sort of understand it. He is thinking of our family when he works all those crazy hours. So in a way, he works longer hours because he is answerable to himself.

Are there any entrepreneur out there that can share their start-up experience?

The Last Lecture

2008-07-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you know that you only have a limited amount of time to live? If you knew that you will die in a year, what will you do?

Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon, found out that he had pancreatic cancer and had only 3-6 months to live. And he delivered his now-famous Last Lecture. This is an uplifting (yes, uplifting!) lecture on the dreams he had and the path he took in achieving those dreams.

If you haven't heard his lecture yet, take an hour to do so. It's widely available on youtube.

Prof. Randy passed away yesterday, bless-his-soul, at the age of 47. His inspiring lecture has been made into book as well, for those who prefer to read rather than watch.

Back to the original question, though. Most of us don't live our fullest until we know we don't have time anymore. I myself is included. And of course, it's easy to say that we will aim for this, but how exactly do we plan to live to the fullest?

Fatal DNS Flaw

2008-07-23T22:14:00.001-07:00

I thought I would pass this on for my tech-savvy friends: DNS Dot Bomb: Update Your Nameservers.

In brief, the flaw relates to how DNS requests are made to servers and fulfilled...

With poisoned DNS, you could think you were visiting a given site that you trust, and yet be directed to a look-alike site packed with every form of malware that tries to auto-install or prompts you to accept ActiveX-based horrors that would take over your computer.

In my opinion, if you don't initiate it, do not install anything when prompted. If you want to check emails or news, and you are prompted for some player installation, it should raise a big warning flag in your head. Of course, it gets tricky when you try to play online games. After all, almost all of them uses ActiveX, Java, or Flash player, so you will need to accept installation prompt.

There are people out there who want to take advantage of the clueless. It's a sad reality. Don't be clueless!

The New iGoogle

2008-07-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

I love Google. I have used it since it was still in its toddler years, and I love the simplicity of the solution it presents. Nowadays, it is much more than just a search engine. I remember the first time I heard of gmail. I was asking around for an invitation. I believe I even did free advertisement for them (most of my friends now have an @gmail.com account). Of course, as we all know, Google offers more products nowadays.

One product I use everyday is iGoogle. I love how it enables me to put multiple websites (ie, gadget) on one page, giving me a glimpse of what I will be seeing if I were to visit those individual pages. I love the fact that I can check for news and email and facebook notification and new blog entries all at the same time from the same page (before iGoogle, I have tons of bookmarks).

Google has just introduced a new iGoogle, which is applied to randomly-selected accounts. At first glance, it looks good. We have the option of "maximizing" a specific gadget on the page. News feed now has a blurb beneath the title. I can also tag/delete/move Gmail emails, which is a good feature to add.

BUT, it also introduces limitations on the feature I use the most: Gmail! Now I cannot reply to email, or forward an email, or attach a document if I am accessing Gmail via iGoogle (these were all possible before). On top of that, my sent email is not saved on Gmail folder.

The new iGoogle doesn't let me move gadgets between tabs either, which is more than annoying. To move gadget, I have to delete it, and then add it from another tab view. Definitely a huge step back from the previous iGoogle.

I am sure there are people who will love the new iGoogle. Personally, I don't like it. So I tried to change it back to the old one.

To revert to the old iGoogle, from my iGoogle page, type this command on the address bar:
javascript:_dlsetp('v2=0');

To change to the new iGoogle, type this on the address bar:
javascript:_dlsetp('v2=1');

Thankfully, the command works in IE. It doesn't work in Firefox, though (I am still seeing the annoying new iGoogle page). So for now, IE is my office browser.

Booming

2008-07-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

On my way home today, I stopped beside a car with booming bass on one intersection. I can understand people loving music and turn their radio up, but my windows were closed and I could feel the bass blasting through my eardrum. The red light lasted for about 30 seconds or so, but it sure felt like a loooong time for me.

I don't know how that driver can preserve his hearings, but oh well, to each his own. I was glad to speed away when the light turned green.

11 hads

2008-07-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Found this sentence on the net today:

James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher.

Do you think it's grammatically correct?

For answers, look here: http://toshuo.com/2008/james-while-john-had-had-had-had-had-had-had-had-had-had-had-a-better-effect-on-the-teacher/

Coins Counting

2008-07-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

In the effort to minimize spending, I like breaking bills into coins and store the coins up in "savings" jars. It helps me stop spending, since I feel like I've been using up all my cash (when in fact I haven't).

So after collecting coins for a year, I have jars full of pennies, quarters, toonies, loonies, and probably some buttons and foreign countries' coins. It is time to trade them into cash. So off to the bank we went.

Imagine our surprise when the teller told us that we need to roll them all up nicely (manually) before trading them in. They don't have coin-counting machines in any of the branches (even in the head office). This was ridiculous. Even back in a third world country such as mine, all banks have the coin-counting machine. This is Canada! Besides, if we had them all rolled up nicely, we wouldn't need to trade them in.

So, off to Google we researched. And yup, everyone apparently had the same problem. And the only place that would trade your coins into bills are casino. Yes, that's right. Casino! We called around and found that a nearby casino stopped offering that service recently. Another call to River Rock Casino confirmed that they still provided this coins-to-bills service.

We haven't gone there yet, but does anyone know who else provides this kind of service? Banks, where every money-related transactions should occur, do not have it. And we live quite far away from River Rock Casino.

Left or Right?

2008-07-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

In Indonesia, people wear wedding rings on their right ring finger. In Canada, they put it on their left ring finger.

Being an Indonesian couple in Canada, we decided to wear ours on our right hand. Chris is very adamant about "being different than everybody else". (Heck, our wedding theme was blue -- nobody in Makassar uses blue as wedding theme).

A couple I know make different arrangements every day. They might put theirs on right hand one day, and switch to left hand the next day. They make plans, though, so both of them put the rings uniformly on certain finger every day.

Personally, it doesn't make a difference for me. BUT, I did get hit by some random stranger when I wore mine on my right hand. I had to flash my ring several times before he got the clue. ^_^ So my policy now is, when I am alone, I wear it on my left hand. When both of us are going out together, it's back on my right hand.

I don't know why people put the ring on left or right hand, though. Does anyone know?

Company Golf Tournament

2008-07-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, my company held an annual golf tournament. Being new and not knowing anyone yet, I decided to join in, hoping to know more people during this time. Of course, I warned the coordinator that I never stepped in a golf course, so rules etc were nonexistent as far as I was concerned. Heck, I only knew golf from reading Dan Doh!!

On the tournament day, it was cloudy in the morning. I started to regret my registration. Also, I realized that playing on a golf course meant I had to walk around in "forest" for hours. I hated exercises (still do). What on earth was I thinking when I registered? Hhhh..

We all went to work in the morning, and at about 11 am, we headed to the golf course for lunch before the game. My mood got better after that. The sky cleared. I found out that some of my colleagues didn't know golf either. And I knew one of my teammates (phew!).

After trying it out, golf turned out to be pretty fun. Okay, it was fun only when I hit the ball - which didn't happen very often - but the anticipation that "the next hit might be it" kept me motivated. In addition, the game was played a bit differently than usual. There were games at some of the holes. At hole 9, it was marshmallows golf (who could hit it the furthest among all participants). There was a hockey net at hole 13. If we could hit the golf ball through it, we could advance 40 yards ahead right away. Also, there was poker games, where we had to pick cards from different people from several places. These card holders, in turn, provided games we needed to play in order to get the cards. Incidentally, our team managed to collect a club flush. Unfortunately, some other team got a straight flush, so we lost the poker game.

BUT, we did win the whole tournament. Yup, I was surprised myself. I knew that at some point, we got -6, and we went +2 at hole 18. But we missed the last 2 holes (time out). I heard that some team got -9, and there were teams who completed the whole course. So I didn't expect to win. But win, we did! Although it was mostly my teammate's effort, as a team member, I was very proud of the win. Ehem.. and I did managed a birdie (I did better on the green than trying to get to the green).

For the prize, each of us got one movie pass, and our names would be engraved on the Golf Trophy.

The Golf Trophy

Hahaha.. I still can't believe it. But wasn't it a good start for an amateur like me?

Happy Canada Day!

2008-07-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today, Canada celebrates Canada Day.

Unlike Indonesia or USA, Canada Day does not equal Independence Day. Since the time long ago, territories on Canada were part of British colonies. On July 1, 1867, apparently 3 of those colonies - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec) - merged together and became a federation of 4 provinces.

It's interesting to know that Canadians were not really interested to celebrate this day. July 1 became a statutory holiday only in 1879. Even then, Canadians thought of themselves as "primarily British" and thus did not take part in a Canadian patriotism. That was until World War 2.

Beginning 1958, government started to celebrate Dominion Day. And in October of 1982, the name was changed to Canada Day.

Isn't it interesting? I never knew that!

PS: I am using Wikipedia - Canada Day as a reference.

Cleaning Cleaning and Cleaning

2008-06-29T10:41:00.001-07:00

People says that in life, there are only two things that are certain: death and tax. Well, I think "the need to clean the house" is also another certain thing in life. It feels like we are cleaning up the house nonstop. Just a few more days, and another batch of cleaning must be carried out again.

Of course, I like a clean house. I don't like the process of cleaning, though. Hhhh...

Yesterday we spent the whole day cleaning level 1 and level 3. Chris also automated some lighting so that our house is smarter. Too bad he cannot automate the floor to be self-cleaning.

Stuck in Bellevue

2008-06-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

So we went for lunch earlier, and accidentally did something that blew the front tire up (don't ask). As a result, we spent an hour changing the tire, and then drove to the nearest Discount Tires to get it changed. Should be done in an hour, they said.

In the meantime, I am reading this very interesting book titled Adam by Ted Dekker. It really is a gripping novel. Although I know this is a Christian novel, it certainly doesn't feel preachy. On the contrary, it feels more like a suspense novel with philosophical side. Of course, I read it for the plot. ^_^

Now, back to my book...

Out of Town!

2008-06-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Just a quick note to say that Chris and I are currently out of town. Yup! We are taking another week for road trip. We don't know when is the next time we can take off like this, so while we can, we are.

On that note, please don't call us if it's not urgent. And if it is urgent, you should definitely SMS us so that we know we should pick up the phone. We check email occasionally. Our current hotel does not have an internet connection, so it is kinda hard. But when we move to another hotel, we should be able to go online.

Cheers and out!

Life and Changes

2008-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

After a month full of parties and lazing around in Indonesia. I came back and was ready to tackle my real life. I went to work and found that things were different. It was so different, that on my 3rd day coming back to work, the company decided to shut down the software department. About half of the Vancouver employee was let go.

It came as quite a shock. But I found that I was okay. My co-workers were very supportive. this was my first lay-off situation, and they gave me encouragement by telling their stories.

It took a while, but I found a job. It is a very interesting position (as Build Coordinator) for an auction company. I am looking forward to start working there. Vacation is almost over.

Waiting...

2008-06-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

I hate waiting.

I don't hate the time spent waiting. For example, if I am baking a cake that will take 1 hour, I am fine with sitting around waiting for it. Or if I have a project that needs requirement from some busy people, then I spend quite some time waiting for their answer. But the thing is, in the meantime I can do something else, whether it's productive or totally self-centered.

I don't mind the fact that my creation will be delayed as a result of waiting. Except in some extreme cases, usually the time frame is still acceptable.

I am also not bothered by the fact that I will receive a gadget later than I thought. Instant gratification was not part of my bringing, so ordering product online works for me best (no line-ups, cheaper price, no commuting time... what more can I ask for?) ^_^

But I hate the uncertainties that waiting entails. Sitting beside the phone waiting for news about a sick family member, or the result of a product launch, or a job offer... those kind of waiting fills up the time with a feeling of dreads. I really am not good with this kind of waiting...

Bill C-61 and Me

2008-06-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, the government tabled bill C-61 that deals with copyright on the digital world. In a nutshell, the bill says that:

you can only rip CD's that you own (ie. your sister / brother cannot rip it).
you can record TV shows for later viewing, but you cannot build a library of digital movies on your computer.
you cannot bypass technology that disallow you to rip/record. Technology to unlock DVD, cell phone, etc are illegal.

I am not an expert on law. There are more to it than what I wrote above (including clauses for fines, etc). At first glance, though, I know that the third condition would make it almost impossible for the first and second rights to be carried out. If you have the right to rip the CD you own, but the big company decides to put a lock on it, then kiss your rights goodbye.

I am not sure if this bill will ever pass. If the government does not listen to regular Canadians and vote based on their own experience, then there is a big chance it will. After all, their salary is so high up there that the changes proposed won't affect them much (in my opinion).

As for me, I hope it doesn't pass. I rip most of my CD's, and then lose them (which is why I rip CD's in the first place). I cannot prove I own those CD's anymore. Also I won't be able to watch Indonesian's DVD as well if this bill passes, since the region decoding is different than North America, and having region free DVD player will be illegal.

Crazy Gas Price!!

2008-06-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you drive at all, you would have noticed that the price of gas climbs up steadily over the past few weeks. It has hit $146.xx everywhere, and some gas station has stopped the 3.5c discount. Yaiks! If this continues, I will have to really find a work-from-home job type... The gas price has really hit me hard.

My only consolation is that I have a hybrid, and I even got a rebate from the eco-rebate program (which has since been dropped -- see the news here). Hhhh... at least I can justify the purchase even more now.

My area is a newly developed one, where buses run infrequently, and you need 2-3 transfers to get anywhere. Even if I want to take public transit, I have to drive and park somewhere first. There is no way I am taking only buses to work!

Handyman

2008-06-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

A handyman came to my house this morning. I bought a new house and it came with 1 year warranty. So he came and fixed all the little things that have been bothering me.

The hot water did not run. He took the faucet apart, found the problematic part, and replace it with a new one. The electrical plug did not work. He did something to it that I don't understand.

I am happiest about his work on my kitchen cabinet, though. There were huge defects on the cabinet, but the cabinet guy said that they could only paint it to hide the defects. Else, they had to replace the whole thing, which they wouldn't do. But this handyman fixed it by applying some putty to it, and add the stain. I don't understand the process, but it looks much better than what the cabinet guy did.

All in all, this handyman did a very good job!

My Wedding

2008-05-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

My wedding pics and ceremony explanation are up here. Enjoy!

Honeymoon - Day 2

2008-05-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the honeymoon. Check it out here.
Btw, wedding pictures are still in progress. Please be patient. ^_^

Honeymoon - Day 1

2008-05-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

My husband has posted photos of the places we go to and the scenery of our honeymoon. If you like, check it out here.

More Interesting Web Products Out There...

2008-05-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

- Mockatoo
The idea is simple... you make a list of collection that people can see, but you don't actually put the files online. Why is this important? I guess so that people know who to ask for the file if they want it, without you violating the copy right thing.. (after all, sharing between friends are permitted ^_^)

- Joe's Goal
There are habits that we can do without, and there are habits that are very good to have. Joe's Goal lets you write down all these habits and give them points accordingly (+, 0, -). Every time you do any of the habits, put down a smiley face (or a frown face). You will be able to track how many of those you have successfully adopt (or discard).

- Copywriting Tips for Online Marketing Success
If you are a blogger, chances are one of these days you want to write about more than about "my life". This site provides tips about blogging, and business people might find it very useful. The links to some interesting topics follow.

- 5 Common Grammatical Errors that Makes You Look Dumb
The author gets it right. These mistakes not only make you look dumb, but also annoy the heck out of your readers.

- Marketing Blogging Tips by David Ogilvy
The title says it all, really.

Hello, Vancouver!

2008-05-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, after spending a month in my birth country, I am back in Vancouver.

My sister mentioned how different life is between the two countries. Indonesia is bustling with activities and noise. People are selling stuff everywhere. Cars honk every 5 seconds or more. Trucks pass by all kinds of road with little regulation. And our lifestyle there is very different -- no self-laundry, self-cooking, or self-cleaning up, thanks to the maids we hire (people power is cheap over there). Whatever we want can be fulfilled easily. We basically live like a princess.

Canada, on the other hand, has clean air and good road. It's cooler in temperature. And we do everything ourself. If you don't pick up your clothes, nobody is going to do it for you. If you don't cook, then you don't eat. Canada is also quiet. Cars don't honk. People do not shout.

When I was back there, life in Canada felt surreal. I saw how the women spend their days filled with things they like to do. They arranged their own schedules and they could drop everything at a moment's notice if emergencies should arise. Hobbies got done. I saw wives hanging out in a beauty parlor all day. Going to a gymn had become a social activity. Life in Canada surely would never be that 'easy'.

But now that I am here, life in Indonesia is but like a dream. Who needs a castle as a home, anyway? And I realize that those wives must have been bored out of their minds. Having a week or two with nothing to do but relax is a privilege, but having a lifetime of vacation is a thing I am not looking forward to.

Two countries, two worlds, two lifestyles.

Just Married!

2008-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Finally.. today was the day I got married. I am officially a Mrs. Wow!!!

A lot of married people told me that there would be disappointments, unmet expectations, and things go wrong in married life. I was sure there would be, but yet I was still optimistic about this.

Hahaha.. I guess focusing on the negative wouldn't make a good start of a successful marriage. I was definitely looking forward to this day. What would it feel like? Who would be there? Would all go smoothly? Time will tell...

OpenSSH Public Key Authorization on Linux

2008-04-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

To find out whether a user exists or not in a Linux machine:
*    grep username /etc/passwd
or
*    id username

To give a new user access to Linux machine:
1. Login as root user
2. Run this:
    $ /usr/sbin/adduser new_user
3. Set a new password:
    $ passwd new_user
    (and put the password when prompted)

To give them root access:
4. Edit the /etc/sudoers file
    $ vi /etc/sudoers
    User_Alias YOUR_GROUP = new_user
    YOUR_GROUP ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL

To test whether the new_user has been granted root access, run these two commands:
    $ su new_user (user should be 'new_user' now)
    $ sudo su (user should be 'root' now)
If the conditions above met, then new_user has root access.

If the new_user want to use public/private key gen authorization:
5. Change your user to be the new_user
    $ su new_user
6. Create ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file if it doesn't exist yet
    $ mkdir ~/.ssh
    $ chmod 700 ~/.ssh
7. Insert the public key on the authorized_keys file
    $ vi ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
    (insert the public key entry)

Life Around Food

2008-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

My time in Indonesia seems to be full of food and wedding-related activities. Obviously, since my main purpose is the wedding, I do lots of preparations for it.

The thing is, for the wedding, I need to lose weight (always!). But the culture dictates that people offer food to whomever they happen to meet. So whenever I meet my future parents-in-law, lunch or dinner or snacking is sure to follow. My cousins would tell me all about the delicious food at a place they have just visited. Yesterday, my mom and I went to a jeweler's store, and he treated us to ice cream!

We talk about what's for lunch every morning. After lunch, we plan our teatime snack and/or dinner. After dinner, there is a late-night snack talk. And of course, what's for breakfast.

Ahhh... Life revolves around food during vacation. What a (yummy) life! ^_^

Finally Home!!!

2008-04-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

20 hours of flights in a 24-hour span, and I survived it!
48 hours without internet, and I survived it!

Now, it's time for bed... Zzzz....

Free Tax Software

2008-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine found out that I always did my own taxes manually every year. He then pointed me to StudioTax, a free tax preparation software for Canadian.

This software is really powerful and convenient. When you run the program, it asks for your province of residence and the kind of claims you will make. If you study, you will claim T22. Workers claim T4. If you have savings or investments, you will receive form T5 from the bank. There are also selections for charity, RRSP, etc.

Once you have made your claim choices, the screens you need to fill are very simple. It is basically copy-and-paste from your forms to the screens. The software will put the informations on the correct columns. If you make mistake, it will give you warnings before you generate the NETFILE file.

It usually takes me about 30 minutes to fill one form. But with StudioTax, I was done in about 15 minutes or so. And that was my first time using it. If I have to do it again, I am sure it would take me less time.

Oh, you can only save and generate at most 20 returns using StudioTax. I guess it's not for professionals. Well, they have more information on their website. Overall, I am very pleased with this software and would recommend it to you if you have not-very-complicated returns.

I am sure it can do much more than what I said here, but since I didn't use it, I wouldn't comment on it. You can download and use it for free on their website.

In Hong Kong

2008-04-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

Waaaaaahhhh...

The moment I stepped out of the plane, I knew I was in Asia. The air is more humid, and have this after-rain smell. It's nice..

1 more hour till my flight to Indonesia...

Flying Out

2008-04-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Finally... today I am flying out of Vancouver. It is a long-anticipated day. Strangely enough, I still have lots of things to do before my flight out.

In any case, I can't wait to see my family again. It's been such a long time. We are all going to there to celebrate my younger brother's 15th birthday. I think the last time we did that was when he turned 2.

Done with Tax Return!

2008-04-14T22:14:00.001-07:00

Ha! I am finally done with my tax return.

Next on the list:

preparing my sisters' tax return
vacuuming my room
arranging a mountain full of sheet music

Bridal Shower

2008-04-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after church, my friends threw me a bridal shower! I didn't expect it at all and I was taken completely by surprise. Every female members and friends (and girls) were there.

Cik Anita organized the whole thing. She prepared some games where my friends did my evil make-up. Then they tied my hair into lots of small bundles and put a tiara and veil over it. The young adult females made this overall that looked like a Hawaiian skirt, with the duster incorporated in it. I still do not know how I looked, but it must have been pretty terrible, because the little girls were staring, and the teenage girls were giggling and pointing. I was thankful that nobody cried though.. so there is hope still...

Then I had to identify 14 cleaning products in a story that cik Anita read. If I got less than 10, I would be 'punished'. Although I hate cleaning, the hours spent in front of TV pay off... I managed to identify 12. Hehehe.. I think cik Anita was pretty disappointed that I got most of them.

For another game, I had to answer some questions about Chris. I admitted that he was the romantic one who loved sop konro bakar. Hahaha.. those were easy one. But apparently I didn't know his shoe size or his favorite song. Oh well.. And cik Anita had asked Chris previously about his impression of me. I read what Chris wrote, and it was beautiful.

Words of Thoughts from Chris
Olivia, despite of her strength and superior ability in handling her daily routine,
I will always see her as a weak girl
whom I will protect with all my strength,
whom I will take care of all the time,
whom I will grow old with,
whom I will love forever
till death do us part

See, I told you he is the more romantic one!

It was a very memorable bridal shower. Thank you, my friends, for giving me such a wonderful gift to celebrate my happy day!

Pre-Wedding Pictures

2008-04-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Some of my friends have been asking us to post some pre-wedding pictures. Well.. Chris has posted some on our wedding website and some more on Flickr. Without further ado.. here they are!

Done with the Laundry!

2008-04-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ha! Finally.. after postponing putting away the laundry for several weeks, yesterday night I hardened my resolve and spent 3 hours taking care of the laundry.

Who knew I had so much clothes? Who knew I had so much too-small jeans? Must... lose... weight... (but love food too much to stop eating.. ). Hhh...

Next up, filing tax returns. I am starting to dread the process and wondering if it worths paying $80 for a consultant service. Hmm....

On Procrastinating

2008-04-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Procrastinating.. Ah... You would think that a word starting with "pro" would have a positive meaning. Proactive, professional, protein.. They are all good. But this one pro is not good for health.

Currently I have lots of things to do before leaving for Indonesia. Let's see.. I need to go to Costco and buy medicines for mom. I need to find more clothes as well. And arranging my room. And packing my baggage. Oh, and filing tax. Whew.. lots of things to do. And yet, every night I still sit in front of TV and watch these cool Japanese guys sing, act, talk, and play games.

Procrastinating.. I have master this one art that I definitely can use without.

Third Visit to the Dentist

2008-04-09T11:03:00.001-07:00

So I am back from yet another dentist appointment. And the dentist discovered new problem with my teeth. I need several fillings and root canals. Which means yet more appointments to come. Arrgghhhh!! I hate it when this happens. At this rate, I will know every inch of the dentist office by the end of Summer.

Now I wish I do not like chocolate and go to dentist regularly. Then perhaps I won't be in this much trouble.

Transposer 2.0

2008-04-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, worshipmusic.com sent me a newsletter today regarding the release of Transposer 2.0. Here is the full announcements:

NEW: Transposer 2.0, pitch and tempo changing software!

Singers, musicians, worship leaders- ever wanted to change the key of a song instantly, so you could hear the audio file in the best key for you? Changing the sheet music or chord chart was always something you could do, but how could you change an actual audio file with your favorite recording on it? The answer is Transposer 2.0.

Transposer 2.0 allows you to raise or lower the pitch of any MP3 song without changing the tempo. You can also change the tempo of an MP3 song without changing the pitch. The quality of the recording remains the same, within reasonable limits (pitch changes between 4-5 semitones, and tempo changes of 25% or less).

This program can be very useful to someone trying to learn a certain track of a song.Transposer 2.0 Some applications of Transposer 2.0 include:
Practice or play in your key- by raising or lowering the pitch of a song you can practice in your ideal key!

Learning a song - lowering the speed makes it easier to write down each note of an arrangement or instrument solo part.
Runs on all these Windows/PC platforms: Windows 95, Windows 98/SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP.

If you want to try it out, there is a free shareware version that you can download.

You can now try out Transposer 2.0, by downloading a free demo of the software and trying it out! The demo version will let you try the software before you buy and will help you see if this software tool is right for you! Select HERE to download the software now.

This demo download is completely free, and includes no spyware, or any other programs. It is simply a demo version of the Transposer 2.0. The demo will operate exactly at the fully licensed version of the software, except that it will not allow you to save the transposed song files to your computer, until you acquire a valid license key. This allows you to try out the software on the song files you want, and allows you to hear the results for yourself before purchasing the software.

I tried it for a song, and it sounds pretty good. Try it out yourself and let me know what you think!

Me, the Complex Potential, and the Ideal Fluid Flow

2008-04-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Graduating from university a few years back, I got my degree in both Mathematics and Computing Science. I have passed the classes for ODE, PDE, BVP, and other abbreviated principles of Maths.

So how come I can't remember anything about Complex Potential and Ideal Fluid Flow? (Actually, anything with "fluid flow" in it spells trouble for me). Hhh...

Wedding Shoes - part 2

2008-04-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Some friends found out about my shoes dilemma. Advices from those who saw the pictures are for the gold one. When I wore them though, the gold one actually looked worse (and less stable) than the white one. So I returned the gold one already.

My friends told me an alternative I have never thought about before -- flat or lower shoes. Since I am short, I like high platforms. Apparently though, for the wedding, I will be wearing a tiara, which would add to my height. So lower shoes are better (plus, nobody look at your shoes anyway).

I'll try browsing around more for lower shoes.

Things I Learn from One Piece

2008-04-06T22:58:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up, my mother always told me that fictions were not the best choice for reading. I should be learning piano or Chinese instead, she would go on. Or improve mathematics skills and do some physics experiments that would be beneficial to my study. Being a kid, I disobeyed her and enjoyed novels very much. I read almost everything from short stories in magazines to detective stories (The Famous Five, The Three Investigators, The Secret Seven) to adventures stories to school-life stories (Malory Towers, St. Clare's). Oh, and of course, fairy tales too.

In my junior high school year, Japanese Comic (manga) entered the country (Candy Candy). Along with it, the first anime also came (Doraemon).

We have come a long way since Candy Candy and Doraemon, but anime and manga are still enjoyable today. One of the series I like very much is One Piece. And this might sound weird, but One Piece has really good advices and life values that I admire.

One, Luffy is always loyal to his friends (or nakama). He never leaves his nakama behind, even though it means he has to fight in a "hopeless" battle. Once, he charges through the strongest fort of his enemy to get his nakama back. Nobody has ever survived that experience, but he is ready to risk it all for his friends. This kind of friendship is rare in real life. We might have our own ideals and think that we will everything for our friends, but once the price gets real high, our economic sense prevails.

Two, every member of the Straw-hat's Pirates has an obvious flaw. Luffy is dumb and hungry all the time. Nami loves money too much. Chopper is scared of everything. Usopp lies. Zoro is always lost. Sanji is weak against women. Robin is calculating. I don't know Franky's weakness yet, but it will show in time. But despite the flaws, Luffy always focuses on his team's strength. He never asks Zoro to learn the directions more, for example. He leaves it all on Nami's hand. It will be all too easy for him to ask Usopp to stop lying, but he takes it as a fact of life instead. Luffy knows he is only good at fighting, so he learns new techniques to become stronger. We should always try to improve ourselves, but insisting it on someone else is probably not a good idea.

Three, every member looks out for each other, even without being asked for. Among the 8 members in the team, 3 have the Devil Fruit ability. Which means they cannot swim. For a pirate, this flaw is very serious. They are on a ship most of the time. They fight with other pirates on the ship too. And what will happen if the ship sinks? The 3 members would be in grave danger. And yet, every time something happens, another member always remember to look after these three. No agreement has ever been made before. The three do not even yell for help. The others are probably in pretty serious situation too (being thrown into the sea is no laughing matter). But no matter the danger the put themselves in, the members would always help these three. I envy this relationship. In North America, we have been taught to be independent and self-sufficient, so that help can be seen as an insult. As a result, no help is ever given that is not asked for. "Mind your own business" seems to be the theme of social life here.

I am sure there are some more lessons I learn just from One Piece. But I will reserve them for another day.

PS: If you haven't seen One Piece before, I highly recommend you watching the Japanese version with English subtitles, not the English-dubbed one. The Japanese version is far superior to the English one.

Japanese, Observed

2008-04-05T20:13:00.001-07:00

In my spare time, I love watching anime (Detective Conan, One Piece, etc) and Japanese drama (Liar Game, Hana Kimi, etc). After watching lots of Japanese shows, I started noticing how Japanese market their products. It is very different than how Western does it.

Their advertisements are embedded within the drama. So while the character does something boring or routine (such as driving or locking the apartment door), big letters would appear and names of sponsors would be displayed. Audiences will sit through all the sponsor names for sure, because the drama is still playing in the background.

They also market their actors differently. Some actors are dedicated to acting only (Oguri Shun, for example). Some do modeling on top of acting (Shibue Joji). Most, though, are also singers (Yamashita Tomohisa). If the actor is a male singer/actor (also referred to as idols), then chances are, he "belongs" to Johnny's.

I don't really know the details since I don't speak Japanese, but as far as I know, Johnny's Entertainment recruits boys to be idols. The boys start at a young age and they are taught dancing and singing. If they get better at performing (usually in their teens), then they will make a debut as a member of newly created boy's band. An actor can even belong to two or more groups at the same time. I don't know if it has rivals, but as far as I know, most (all?) boy's bands are managed by Johnny's. Hence, during the variety shows or performances, the idols can perform other groups' songs. No need to worry about copyright. And since they are under Johnny's, the different groups get along quite well. The seniors freely offer advices to their juniors.

Anyway, back to the singers/actors themselves. The first time they starts acting, the singers usually have very weak acting skills (in my opinion, their debut characters usually closely resemble their own personalities). But people still watch the drama. Partly because of the story. But mostly because they want to support their idols. And once they fall in love with the idol, they would search for other dramas the actors are cast for. The more popular the idol, it's more likely that their movies will be watched.

The fans know about their personalities and their lives. There are shows where they describe what they do in their spare time or for special occasion, how they interact with other groups, etc. But in spite of this, they still can go to regular school. I don't know how their life is at school, but apparently even the most famous idols attend regular university, take the regular train everywhere, and can take vacation without having to reserve the whole ocean for themselves (again, this is from what I know via watching TV etc).

I have this impression that Japanese like their idols to behave well. When an idol got caught underage-drinking, he would be reprimanded and penalized. He would not be allowed to go on stage or release an album. Although he had a lot of fans who wanted him to perform again, he could not escape the penalty of his actions.

In North America, scandals sell. Even with all the drugs, partying, and underage drinking, an actor/actress who is popular will never be punished. It's weird that people here seems to like the story of celebrity mess-ups.

Second Dentist Visit

2008-04-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

So I am back from my second dentist visit of the year. It was 2 hours long, and my mouth is numb from all the freeze they injected. I still have to go back just for cleaning. I am starting to feel that the tooth fairy hates me.

Anyway, while I was sitting on the dentist chair and trying to think about anything but the drill that was in my mouth, I imagined what would happen if our teeth can grow indefinitely all our lives (just like crocodile). If it hurts, we can just pull it out (gently, of course), and it will grow again. There will be no need for hygienist and dentist (or limited need for this profession as we know it now). No drilling in the teeth and no freezing anymore.

Instead, there might be field for teeth-polishing, teeth-coloring, and teeth-shaping. Much like what we have for our hair and nails.

Come to think of it.. I am so thankful that hair keeps on growing and nails grow back after we cut it. If I have to go through the drilling thing with my nails, I would absolutely go crazy. Aaaargghhh!!

Wedding Shoes Dilemma

2008-04-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

In my culture, people have big weddings. Everyone the parents know gets invited. The friends of the bride and the groom also get invited, of course, but they usually make up only about 5% of the total guests. My husband-to-be is a first son in his family. More reason that we will have a big wedding.

Anyway, big wedding means standing up for a long time. Which means that I would be needing a comfortable shoes that I can stand in (and walk around with) for hours at end. The shoes must make me taller (since I am short). But it can't be too angled (it would be too tiring for me). I want it to be white (or at least mostly white), and above all, comfortable.

I thought that with all these shoes stores, there must be tons of choices that I wouldn't know which one to buy. Boy, was I wrong! It's really hard to find shoes that match those requirements. I walked around for 2 hours with no luck. Fortunately, at the end, I visited Aldo store and managed to find 2 pair that more or less fulfill my requirements.

The first one is mostly white, with wide black straps. It means that it won't fall off easily. It's about 4-5 inches tall. It hugs my feet perfectly. I fell in love with this one and seriously consider buying this, if I didn't see the second choice.

It is a pair of mute gold sandals. The height is the same as the white one, but with less angle, because the front part is raised more. I am not a big fan of how it looks, but it is very comfortable.

So basically, now I am torn between looking good and feeling comfortable. Ugh...

Dodging the Dentist Chair

2008-04-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

If I have my way, I would never ever have to go to the dentist. My tooth hurts at the thought of dentist. I fast-forwarded "The Little Shop of Horrors" on all dentist's scenes. That's all because of my first visit to the dentist when I was small. He worked on my tooth without anesthetic. I was in pain for a day or two. Ouch!

Anyway, after running out of excuses not to go to the dentist, yesterday I finally mustered up the courage to visit one. It was a painful experience. My teeth and gum were very sensitive to touch and cold water, so they need to be frozen first. It turned out that I was hard to freeze. The hygienist must have injected my gums several times with little luck. So she only worked on 1/4 of my mouth's section. Yup, it means that I have to go back to the dentist at least 2 more times!!

The good news, though, is that after I got it all cleaned, the gum will start healing itself, and hopefully next year's experience won't be as painful. But until then, I need to visit the dentist numerous times to fix all the problems that have accumulated over the years.

Thank God my work covers the dental insurance!

A Friend is Leaving the Country

2008-04-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

My day started as usual: driving to work, getting stuck in traffic, having coffee (water, actually), checking emails, coding. But today, I got pinged my a friend who told me that he would be leaving the country for good this weekend. I knew he had had problems staying here, but I thought he found a way to finish his study. So his news saddens me.

I asked him the reason he suddenly was unable to stay anymore. And he said, "because... it's April Fools' Day!"

He got me. I hope your day was full of more pleasant surprise from those around you.

Today, a blog I am following, Free Money Finance posted several interesting April Fools' stories. Check them out if you have time.

And more April Fools' stuff from around the web:

Bridal Bouquet

2008-03-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting tidbit on the net about the start of bridal bouquet.

Apparently, the first wedding bouquets were not made with flowers, but instead were composed of herbs. It was thought that evil spirits would be repelled by their strong aroma. Dill would be included in the mix because it was thought to promote lust! Not only that, the brides will consume dill for these alleged properties. In the Tudor era, another substance thought to put brides in the mood for love was marigolds, which were gilded and dipped in rosewater.

Huh! Who knew?!?

Fill in the Blank... -ice

2008-03-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

When you fill in the blank, what do you get?
Try this one:

I thought people are nice
______________________ advice
______________________ chicken and rice
______________________ at any price

Growing Up Singing

2008-03-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

When I was 2 or 3 years old, my big brother joined the Sunday School choir at church. He would be learning new songs and sang them proudly in front of my mom and my dad. Every Mother's Day and Father's Day, my bro would sing a song to our parents first.

I looked up to my big bro and wanted to join choir. The teachers were firm when they refused to let me in. It made sense. I was too small and I couldn't read. I couldn't even pronounce the words right. I would need a private tutor to teach me a song.

Luckily for me, my mom was patient enough to be my tutor. I might not be in the choir, but I sure learnt all the songs my bro was learning. I could sing (or mumble in trembling notes, anyway).

Growing up, I was always in a church choir. But when I hit my teen years, I also joined a vocal group. In my church, every grade has its own vocal group. My grade had 3 good singers and additional 3 willing hearts (who were deaf-tone). I was one of the "more experienced" ones, so I got to teach others who never sang before.

It was disheartening. At times, I almost gave up and thought that we could never sing properly. I felt like crying. If I could choose to be in another vocal group, I would have done so. But I didn't have that choice, and so I persevere. I did end up joining an additional VG though, which became my fuel and motivator to do better in my grade VG.

Two years since we started, one of the tone-deaf people could sing solo beautifully, and another could create her own alto part without needing any more help. I was so proud of them! My VG was finally shaping up.

But there was a riot in my city and I had to move. This time, I joined a VG of people who mostly can sing, with only one or two people that can't. After a year or two, everyone can sing wonderfully.

Then I moved to Canada. My church was "famous" (among people who knew of its existence) for its choir. The choir memorized all the lyrics and movements! I felt so happy. "Finally," I thought, "a choir where I can grow and learn lots of things." Of course, as it turned out, the choir director left the country, and the responsibility for the choir was thrust upon me and a friend.

Asking people to join the choir was not really hard. Mostly because the choir members were really enthusiastic about singing in a choir. I "nudged" all my friends to join the choir at one point or another. And as it happened, not everyone can sing.

This time, though, since I had had this experience before, I was not very worried. Everyone who joined had a heart to please the Lord. That reason alone calmed me down. And it came to pass... Show after show, the little things that usually went wrong just went right during the performance. And those who didn't know how to sing to start with.. they ended up being great singers.

I believe in depending on the Lord. I believe in work. And I believe in a serving heart. As long as the choir has that, we'll be okay.

Tomorrow, we will perform the song "Watching Over Me", which we just practiced today. It's not a hard song. A year or two ago, I wouldn't dream of asking the choir to sing a song they practiced only once. But today, I felt very confident. I guess I am an optimist after all.

Random Things

2008-03-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

The more we care about something or someone, the harder it seems to let go of their betrayal. We hurt more when they do or say something careless in their moment of weaknesses. It helps if the relationship continues and then heals. In some cases, people cut ties, and all we are left with are the sense of bewilderment and lost.

I knew relationships were not easy. I knew that I would part with most of my friends. But there were some that I thought would last for a long time. There were some friends who I thought would be my friends forever. But somewhere down the road, something went wrong, and no matter what I tried, I could not see or think about them without feeling hurt.

My church is moving this Sunday to a new location. We used to rent from another church under the same denomination and had a very good relationship with them. But over the years, that other church was losing members and changing pastors. And now they want us to pay for their pastor's salary as well. I can't see how that will happen. All our congregation are not rich. Most work two jobs. We have 80 people giving offering, and it amounts to the same amount the other church's offering with only 40 people. Every week, they will pester our pastor for multiple reasons just before the service begins. Every week, they morally bully our deacons. Our moving out is a good thing for the congregation.

It is sad to see how supposedly Christians behave.

Wedding Website Launched

2008-03-28T23:36:00.000-07:00

I am so happy! Our wedding website is finally published earlier today.

Chris and I went to Seattle in January for our photo shoot, and there were tons of good pictures that I was impatient to show the world. But since I want them to see it on our website, I dare not distribute it nor brag about it. But now I can!

The above picture is one of my favorite one. But there are a lot more where it came from. Be sure to check the website on http://www.chrisolive.net/ and leave us a note! ^_^

Living with Strata...

2008-03-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

In North America, the only type of housing where you have complete control over is single family home. SFH means that all your outside walls are not attached to other houses. If you have SFH, chances are you have a front/back yard, and there is grass surrounding your whole house. Sadly, SFH is becoming more and more unaffordable. You can probably still have one, but you will be in debt for all your life.

The second best thing for a small family is townhouse, which is what I live in right now. Unlike SFH, townhouses are strata-ed.

What is strata? Strata is a group of volunteer owners, selected by all owners in the complex, who deals with administration of the whole complex. It's snowing hard and we need snow plow? Strata will call them in. Somebody's guests are making lots of noises at night time? Strata will warn (and fine) them. Somebody's car knock your garage door? Strata will deal with insurance. The complex needs more visitor parking space reserved? Strata will ensure it gets done.

But living with strata is not all rainbows and bright color pictures. Yes, strata deals with the part you can't bother with, but it also deals with something personal to you. Owners of townhouses do not have complete control over their home, at least the outside part. It means that you will be towed if you park over time on certain area. It means that you cannot paint your outside walls or fence, or plant a single flower without strata's permission.

Depending on your strata, some complex does not allow satellite dish, antenna, hanging the clothes to dry, or live Christmas tree. Want to put up decorations? You have to take it down by certain date. Want a lamp post on your front yard? Better make sure strata agrees to it. Want to enclose your garage for extra room? Nope, can't do it (the City treats it as illegal second suite -- not legal, but they won't do anything either. Strata, on the other hand, can fine you every week until you take it down).

I can understand that a complex want to look united. But when harmony turns to uniformity, isn't it taking unity a bit too far?

PS: And I currently am a Strata Treasurer.

Doppelganger

2008-03-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

When I went back home in 2002, it was time for the placement announcement for first trimester for elementary students. My little brother was in elementary school, and so I took my mom's place and went with him to take his exam result back.

It was nostalgic. My teachers were still teaching (people do not switch career back home). Some of my friends took up teaching. The classroom did not change much. Children were running everywhere and playing the games I used to play. It felt like I was thrown back a decade or two.

Then it was time for the general assembly. Every students and teachers were gathered in a big room for placement announcement. My school have a tradition of announcing the first, second, and third placement for each class in front of a general assembly.

I can't remember what my little bro's placement were. But the thing that surprised me was during the announcement for 2nd grade placements. The third place was won by a person with the exact same first name and last name as me. My teachers turned their heads toward me, and I was going "Whoa! It can't be me! Whatcha looking at?" And a little girl ran forward with pride.

She is not exactly my double. But she went to my elementary school. She was in my high school. She also goes to my church back home. I am going home in a month. I am looking forward to meet this girl who shares my name.

Counting Down to Wedding - 36 days to go

2008-03-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

My soon-to-be-husband Chris left Canada last night to prepare for our wedding day. I have never been involved in any wedding planning in Indonesia, and now we need to do it thousands of miles away from the ceremony location. It's not easy.

The invitation, which should have been out this week, is not yet printed. The invitation company excuses itself by saying that the paper was delayed during delivery. We haven't found an MC yet. Chris still has no idea about the event order for the reception. So he will take care of all those little quirks. He will yell at people if necessary.

Our engagement party will be two days before that. My family will host it. It will be a mini concert from my side of the family. My niece and nephew will sing and dance 2 songs. My cousins will perform a song with piano. My uncle, who is really good at karaoke, will sing us a happy song. My sis-in-law will duet with my little bro on violin. My family will sing a song for me and Chris. My bro and my sis and I will sing a song for our parents (it will be in Chinese -- hopefully I can memorize it).

I am a bit worried about the event back home, but I still have responsibilities here. Oh well... I will just do what I can from here.

Easter 2008 - Judas Iscariot: the untold story

2008-03-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

Last Good Friday, my church did a presentation titled "Judas Iscariot: the untold story". For the first time ever, we held a presentation in a theatre. The room acoustic was excellent. The only drawback was that the background sound pretty much drowned the actors' voices. So they all needed to use the microphone (and of course, the battery had to run out during the performance.. Murphy's Law at work here). ^_^

Ivan did a great job as Judas. Those who saw him testified that he acted so good, we didn't need any music to support him anymore. Jessica and Mega cried a lot in the play, just like they usually do. Come to think of it.. they always got the crying part. Jessica played Mary for the 4th time, and Mega played Magdalene for the 3rd time, I think. Adit played Peter again. It's weird, but Adit won't be the first person I would think of when I think of Peter. He practiced really hard, though, and the result was pretty good. Jason played the hot-headed Mark. My sis played his mom.

On the other side of the drama, pak Franky and cik Yenny played a modern couple who purposely misinterpret the scripture to fit their own need. It's really funny how they sincerely said, "Let's destroy this man's business, and help his children via the scholarship program we have at church." Hhh.. I guess a lot of Christians have this kind of attitude to a certain level (though hopefully not to the level portrayed in the play). There is a bit of Judas in everyone of us.

The choir was okay. I believe we could do better, but it's always hard to keep that perspective when the time is pressing and there's a ton of things to do still. Overall though, the members have grown a bit in singing technique. Now here's to them reducing the amount of giggling.. ^_^

This year proves to be a busy year for me. After this, our church is moving to another location. But that would be another post...