My Friend series: Christian Shandy

FAMOUS FOR:

- falling in love with DotA to the extreme
- having a triangle relationship with Henry and Ronald. However, after deep thinking and investigation, he decided to be with Henry for the rest of his life (poor Ronald…)
- being my only competitor in weight-loss programme
- love to laugh suddenly without any clear reason


FAVOURITES:

Hang-out place: his room, for playing DotA. Nothing better.

Hobby: You mean beside DotA? He is a pretty good cook.

Makan Place: KFC! And of course, the foods he cooks himself

Foods which he mentioned to be "My Masterpiece"

Song: Some Mandarin songs which he has played for 100 times, one of which has lyrics “I love you…. Yes I do...”


OTHERS:

Status: Domestic partnership (oops…)

Henry - Ronald - Shandy, can you sense something? =P

College: Canisius College, an all-boy school (Can you start to connect the dots?)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

- Everytime I receive the holy communion, I feel very happy…………. (pause) … because I know the mass is ending very soon (after we come back from a Catholic mass)

- OH MY GOD. The food is excellent, I got talent (everytime he eats the food he cooks himself)

My Friend series: Inge Setianti Wibowo

Inge - Yulia, together forever

FAMOUS FOR:

- always have lots of food in her room, from crackers to chocolate
- her “relationship” with Ronald Haryanto, which I shall explain in the later part
- always be together with Yulia everywhere they go

FAVOURITES:

Hang-out place: Hong Kong, some cool malls and cafes (yes, same with Yulia, bcoz they are always together)

Hobby: lion-dancing, watch badminton and football matches via online streaming

Football team: Manchester United

Sport: basketball, swimming (she beat all the guys in her training center when she was a kid)

OTHERS:

Status: single, available, eligible

Hometown: Mojokerto (which is famous for having so many “good” singers like Indonesian Idol’s Si Macan Dari Mojokerto)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Any sentence that negates everything Ronald Haryanto said. Period.

My Friend series: Yulia Tudy (a.k.a Mbak Yul)

FAMOUS FOR:

- “jayus”ness (an Indonesian word to call someone who like to tell lame jokes)
- powerful eating capacity, which sometimes can beat men.
- her MSN status which is always “busy”

FAVOURITES:

Hang-out place: Hong Kong, some cool malls and cafes

Makan place: Waraku, or any buffet restaurant to satisfy her eating habit (scary eh?)

Music: Jay Chou forever

Sport: badminton, jogging, basketball, swimming (she is good at all of those, not bad huh..)

OTHERS:

Status: single, available, eligible, high demand - low supply (??)

Hometown: Jakarta

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

- I don’t care whether the movie is good or not. What I do care is… it’s Jay Chou’s. (after we watched Kungfu Dunk)
- (hundreds of lame jokes which are not searchable using Google)

My Friend series: Ronald Haryanto (a.k.a Mami or Mommy)

In my previous posts, I very seldom mentioned the name of my friends, and only refer them as "my friends". In this post and some other in the future, why not I introduce to you some of my closest friends (so you can guess why I always feel that I am the luckiest guy alive!)

Starting with this one,

7 years ago

NOW

FAMOUS FOR:

- his pennywise nature
- his organizational skill even to smallest details (he will make a TERRIFIC travel agent)
- taking so many subjects every single semester, and still do well.

FAVOURITES:

Hang-out place: A paradise called Johor Bahru, especially Jusco mall

Food: anything made of tofu, nasi lemak

Makan place: Boon Lay nasi lemak, Teck Sing at Johor Bahru, soya bean stall near Raffles, Japanese food sometimes

Music: country (especially by Tantowi Yahya), oldies

Sport: Swimming (he is pretty good at it.)

TV programme: sinetron (Indonesia's soap opera)

Birthday present: anything usable and functional (yes, all men like that!)

OTHERS:

Status: single, available, and eligible

Hometown: Purwokerto (somewhere at Central Java, Indonesia, famous for its maids =P)


QUOTABLE QUOTES:

- I swear that I won’t eat at canteen 13 forever! (after the Chinese food stall charged him 20 cents more than usual)
- It’s a pity that I only managed to complete 199 AUs, 1 less to reach 200 (By the way, 199 is a few tens more than the requirements)
- My room IS NOT a printing station! (He complained after many people including myself print our stuffs using his printer)

My blog was quoted in The Sunday Times!

Yup, it was in The Sunday Times (Sunday edition of The Straits Times) today (April 13, 2008) page 28 ("Think" section). Click the picture to enlarge it.

"I don’t know whether the newspaper is objective while judging the matter. Assuming it’s objective, I must say, Ronald Susilo is a good man. He is talented, ambitious, smart, rich, romantic, gentle, good-looking, sincere, and honest. Maybe his biggest flaw is... he dated the wrong girl."

which is taken from this post.

If you happen to be Ronald Susilo, you don't need to thank me for saying good things about you (which I believe to be true). However, I would be extremely glad if you could teach me how to improve my badminton skill.. haha... Don't worry, there is no way I could overtake you as Singapore #1 badminton player (I don't have the body, the stamina, nor the patience for that... or put it simply, no talent lah :D)

Ronald, I wish you good luck for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. May you win a medal for Singapore! :)

Seven Deadly Sins in Writing a Resume!

1. Using too much secretive language

I was elected as one of the most important people in one of, if I am not wrong, the biggest organizations in my school, which is one of the best schools in this country.

(What's so difficult with mentioning the name of your title, organization and school?)


2. Writing a lot of competencies which are not important

I can dance salsa, cook nasi lemak, spell the alphabets backward, brush my teeth with either hand, and play badminton with one eye closed.

(SO WHAT????)


3. Using informal language

I raised $29,999.99 (minus tax lah of coz...) for my school (pretty impressive huh?)


4. Too dramatic

And you know what! At the end of my speech, everybody was bursting in tears and told me "You save my life!" I was SOOOOOOOOO touched! MY GOSHH!!


5. Think too highly of ourselves

I believe you don't want to make a mistake by not hiring the best employee you will EVER get. I repeat, the BEST employee you will EVER get.


6. Too many words

In this fast-changing, highly globalized, and revolutionary world, you will definitely need somebody who is able to stand up fast and straight with courage and determination, and I, hereby, with proud and dignity, admit, I am that person.

(I don't know what I am talking about)


and the best of all....


7. Inappropriate Photo

NO, don't put a photo like this

even if you are as handsome as David Beckham



or even if you are more handsome than David Beckham

The last one is not bad! :)

I am gonna wear Glasses very soon! *sad sad*

OH NO. I can't imagine myself wearing glasses, no matter how cool it is.

Meaning to say, I would be the first one out of my parents' children (a cool way to say siblings) who wear glasses.

*) Please forgive my limited computer skill

Still very handsome. I don't care! =P

Man Utd will Win the Champions League!

No, I am not Man Utd fan. I only love Juventus for my whole life. However, I think Man Utd has got what it takes (and more) to grab Champions League trophy this year.

They have the best coach in the world (as long as Mourinho is still unemployed), the best player in this planet (Yes, that Christiano Ronaldo, who else?), and they have very good momentum at the moment.



Barcelona is definitely a very strong team, but it is not as strong as 2 years ago. No doubt this match is gonna be very interesting. However, Man Utd is more consistent and I bet it will trash the spaniards comfortably.

Ronaldinho is an evidence that.. In life, talent is not everything. You need good luck also :)

As for Chelsea versus Liverpool (for the third time in the last 4 years.. boring!), I would bet on Chelsea. The reason? NO team... I repeat... NO TEAM would be willing to be trashed by the same team 3 times in a row. Although Frank Lampard mentioned that this match is not gonna be a revenge, I doubt he meant what he said. What's wrong with revenge? In sport, that is one of the best motivators a team could ever have.

So, Man Utd versus Chelsea in the final, and Man Utd is gonna win.

EPL

However, I think Chelsea won't end this season with nothing. They are going to grab EPL title instead. Although I wrote in this post that Chelsea is not going to win anything after Mourinho left, I think I made a mistake. No wonder people say that Israeli are the smartest people in the world. Avram Grant has done excellent work.

My calculation? Arsenal will at least get 1 point when they travel to Old Trafford, and Man Utd will lose to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. So, Chelsea is the EPL winner. Arsenal can try again next year, or next next, or next next next. :)


Italian League

For Serie A, there is no doubt... Inter Milan will win. They are fantastic this year. Roma will be the runner-up and Juventus will be in the third position (not bad for a team which just come back from serie B). I think AC Milan will still qualify for Champions League next session despite their poor performance this season... although I would LOVE to see them playing at UEFA cup. HAHAHAHAHAHA. *evil laugh*


Gigi Buffon.. World Cup, Champions League trophy next.

Number of Readers in my Blog skyrockets because of My 22nd Birthday!

Yes, from the average of 20 plus readers daily to about 70 per day, which makes my rating to be a cool 4 stars.

Well, the ultimate question is.. SO WHAT?

Yup, it's not important. It's never occured in my mind to be popular by writing a blog. No, as I mentioned in some posts ago, I am not interested to be popular, I am only interested to be right.

Two years plus blogging, I really hope I influence my readers in a positive way, no matter how few they are. That's not the most important purpose, that's the only one.

Green Tea and its Benefits

I love green tea and any product associated with it like green tea ice cream, green tea soya milk, and green tea cake (that's why, my friends presented me with that cake for my birthday).

I know green tea is good for health, it contains antioxidants which can help prevent cancer and ageing. It's also good for weight-loss.

However, I don't know that green tea is actually not only good - IT IS AMAZING (according to this source)

- It is good for heart. It will lessen the chance of getting heart attack and heart disease

- It can prevent cardiovascular disease

- Lowers the chance of getting atherosclerosis (don't ask me what's this, ask Mr Google will ya?)

- Prevents blood clots

- Minimizes brain damage after stroke

- Helps prevent hypertension

- Protects against cancer (ovarian cancer, breast cancer, etc)

- Reduces cholesterol level

Green Tea is one of the drinks which can be consumed both hot or cold, or even lukewarm. It contains only 1/3 in caffeine compared to coffee, so drinking a few cups of it won't make you wake up the whole night. However, if you have a bit of insomnia problem, try to limit your consumption by maximum 3 cups a day.

And.. good news for those budget-conscious people is... green tea is very inexpensive. Buying a box which contains 50 bags of green tea will only make you $6 to $10 poorer.

Tuesdays with Benny (8 April 2008) - Are You a Simon Cowell or an Ellen DeGeneres?

Since I am the Chief Writer of http://www.gratiworld.com/, and I have my own column there (Tuesdays with Benny), I am gonna post my article here as well. Please do support http://www.gratiworld.com/, that's indeed a very nice forum for people who want to learn how to be grateful with their life (not to mention, very cute bunny as its logo :D)

I love to watch both American Idol and Ellen DeGeneres Show, but for different reason. I watch American Idol because I love to watch so many talented people sing one after another in one stage.

Although many people said American Idol is not going to be that interesting without Simon Cowell there, I beg to differ. We all know how mean he is when giving comment. I still remember one time when he said to one participant “I think you are the worst singer in the universe.” or when he told William Hung “You can’t sing. You can’t dance. So what do you want me to say?” – Ouch.

Ellen is smart, funny, compassionate, and her ability to relate to her audience is just amazing. In one episode, when Ellen invited three students who “invent” a useful device, I must say, nothing special with those inventions. However, instead of telling them “You’ve got no talent, you better learn how to cook instead”, she told them “Those are interesting inventions, you’ve got talent”

What do we prefer? Not all of us can sing as fine as Christina Aguilera, and not all of us can play soccer like Christiano Ronaldo – so we don’t need someone telling us straight in our face “If your voice was a movie, it would be Scary Movie.” Why not encouraging us instead by telling “I know that you have put so much effort in that song, and your spirit just flows through”? Can’t we find something positive about someone or something? Can’t we?

Thomas Alva Edison is one of the greatest inventors of all time, with light-bulb as one of his inventions. However, do you know that his teacher once labelled him as “slow learner” and he dropped out from school? Fortunately, Edison’s mother just couldn’t buy into that thing. She refused to believe that Edison was stupid. Instead, she told Edison that she believed in him and she decided to home-teach Edison. The rest is history.

We all need some kind of encouragement, especially when we have put hours to our work. Countless number of workers in this planet quit their job every single year not because of the lack of money, nor because their job is too tiring. They quit because their boss never give them some kind of encouragement.

Have you given encouragement today? Do you want to be a Simon Cowell or an Ellen DeGeneres?

Music of my life

I can enjoy almost all kind of music from solitude, instrumental, pop, rock, jazz, country, blues, RnB, until heavy metal.

However, what kind of music I listen depends on my mood.

When I am happy, I would listen to medium-speed pop music, RnB, or Jazz.

When I am a bit melancholic, I would listen to blues, solitude, or slow instrumental. After I feel better, I would switch to Jazz (my favourite) or country.

When I am angry, rock and heavy metal are my choices. That can reduce my anger by a bit, and it's better than saying the F-word 100 times (and morally more correct also)


TIPS OF THE DAY:
How to feel like high-class people without having to go to Maldive?

Listen to Jazz music in the evening while enjoying a nice cup of tea (preferably brewed, not instant tea). Try it!

My 22nd Birthday!

This morning when I woke up, I still couldn't believe that the person I saw in the mirror is a twenty-two year old guy... I still remembered very clearly my sweet 17th birthday not so long ago, and now I am 5 years older than that time. Time flies really fast... really, really fast.

I celebrated this year's birthday with some of my closest friends at TCC (The Coffee Connoisseur) at Bugis Junction. Having done research yesterday for some hours, I was convinced that TCC is one of the best cafes in Singapore. And I testify that it is right.

Yes, here we are, six of us (from left: myself, Ronald, Henry, Shandy, Yulia, and Inge). Four single, available, and eligible bachelors. Two single, available, and eligible bachelorettes. How cool is that? :D

I thought we were going to take photo together again after the foods were being served, but I guess we were too hungry to remember that!

Yup, this is the birthday boy, a 22-year old me (the oldest among us)

Yes, ME again with a glass of Rose Juliet (not my drink, just pose with it.. bcoz it looks pretty :D)

The drinks: Rose Juliet, Mocha Villa, Mighty Joe Young (my choice, the best of all), Hazelnut Frappe


FOODS!

- Tofu Beef Panini

Very nice, the beef is extremely tasty. The sauce is just perfect.

- Bulgogi Beef Steak

The salad and the beef is very fresh and tasty.

- TCC Kahlua Salmon (my choice)

The salmon is fresh and tender, the mashed potato is quite creamy (not the best, but still nice).

- Seafood Aglio Olio

The best, if you like spicy stuff...

- Garlic Chicken Spaghetti


Simple, but fresh and nice. The chicken is very well-cooked.

- Salmon & Prawn Linguine

I must say, nothing special except that it's quite creamy and fresh.

Here I am, taking a pose with my birthday cake..

I didn't prepare the cake. That's a very nice surprise prepared by my friends... So sweet! I am SOOOO lucky to have the best friends in the world.

With so many friends (and definitely my family members) saying happy birthday, I feel that I am the luckiest guy alive.

MY WISH:

- Graduate from NTU with good mark

- Finding a job I would be excited to go every morning

- Make more friends

- Find "that special someone"

PEOPLE, I am TWENTY-TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why I think Ronald Susilo and Li Jiawei should NOT be together in the first place?

Ronald Susilo is preparing to take legal action against former fiancee Li Jiawei to claim his share of a car and a condominium they had bought while they were together (The Sunday Times, page 44; Sport section)

Here I list down 4 reasons why they won't make a good couple in the first place. And by the way, I have thought about those reasons while they were still together.

1. Ronald Susilo is Indonesian-born chinese while Li Jiawei is China-born chinese. Although Susilo is a chinese by race, he doesn't speak chinese at home just like most of Indonesian chinese like me. So, it would be difficult for him to communicate with Li who speaks limited English like what newspapers quoted.

2. Susilo is the youngest child in his family while Li is the only child. That makes Susilo's personality a bit like "mummy's boy" and Li's to be more decisive, quick-tempered, and used to getting her way (that's also what newspapers quoted).

Susilo took the initiative to understand Li, for example by resisting the temptation to get angry when she is angry to save them from quarreling. On the other hand, Li didn't understand Susilo.. She could not see why he had to consult his parents when he bought the car!

Hello Miss Li Jiawei... I do not see any childishness when we consult our parents before buying a car or a house. I don't know if you are super rich that buying a car is like buying groceries for you, but if I were Susilo, I would consult my parents as well. Not mainly for getting their opinion, but to give them the respect they deserve as my parents. Whose parents do not love when their children ask them... "Mum, Dad, I need your opinion"?

3. Li Jiawei didn't have confidence in their relationship. She told her friends "I had known long ago that the relationship was never going to last." OMYGOSH! If you start a relationship and think it's not sustainable, why you must start a relationship in the first place? To gain some experience, to put it in your "Love resume"? Rubbish!

4. Susilo is way too cooperative, forgiving, and places too much trust on her. He didn't even ask Miss Li to have his name on the car and condominium THEY bought together. He assumed they are going to get married anyway, so why bother with the ownership stuff and everything. For Goodness sake, noone can guarantee that a marriage can last. And worse still, they were just dating, so assuming they will get married at the end is just WAYYYY too risky.

Lessons of the day:

- Try to understand the compatibility of your partner before making any decision pertaining relationship and such. Just like trying to fit a square box into a circle hole, it's not that you can't; you can, but it will hurt a lot and for most people, the injuries caused are unbearable. It's better to date someone with matching personalities.

- Love is one thing, and money is another. Don't mix them up! Although you are 99.99999% sure you two are getting married, you better make sure everything is black and white. We don't know if that 0.000001% will come out. Better prepare than sorry!

- People say love is blind. Yeah right. Because it is blind, you better have a super sharp ears and smart brain to decide whether that someone is the right person for you. Listen to your friends, your parents, and anyone you trust and knows you quite well. They might see something that you do not see because we just fall in love just like what Susilo said to newspaper in 2004 "I love everything about her." I can't believe if there is someone whom I like everything about him/her... Usually we don't love everything about them, but we accept it anyway.


I don't know whether the newspaper is objective while judging the matter. Assuming it's objective, I must say, Ronald Susilo is a good man, one in a million. He is talented, ambitious, smart, rich, romantic, gentle, good-looking, sincere, and honest. Maybe his biggest flaw is... he dated a wrong girl.

Singapore versus JB

Having a friend who is absolutely in love with JB (Johor Bahru), I have visited that city not less than 10 times so far. And that's enough to make some comparison between those 2 cities, in my opinion.

SINGAPORE:

- Much cleaner, the air quality is much better (easy proof --> everytime I go back from JB, always got pimples)

- More organized... so we know what to do in given situation.

- People speak, work, and act faster

- McDonald and KFC serve free ice water in less than 10 seconds... with smile (of course you must buy a meal there!)

- People understand the meaning of "SALE". In SG, what we mean by "sale" is 30 - 80% while in JB, you can hardly find an item having 30% discount.

- People speak MUCH better English.


JOHOR BAHRU:

- The food is MUCH nicer (and also much tastier) although a bit less healthy, more variety of food, and much cheaper. Please compare KFC burger in JB and SG, and compare the bread, the meat, and the sauce... and you will understand what I mean by that.

- The salespeople don't change their face expression even if you don't buy things (while in SG, they turn from sweet to sour when you do that)

- The chinese speak better Mandarin (maybe it's slower... so I can understand them, while in SG, I can hardly)

- People are friendlier if you can speak in their mother tongue (means, Malay in general.. and Mandarin if you speak to the chinese). However, their English is definitely not up to standard (I am talking generally)

- The girls are prettier without the need to put any make-up. This is so true. Sorry SG girls :)


My conclusion:

Singapore is the right place to work and stay, while JB is the right place to eat and do some shopping during non-sale period.

The craziest book ever published!

When we ask people to describe a book, some people describe it as "zero content" which means, the book neither inform, persuade, motivate nor entertain.

However, this book is TOTALLY hilarious. It has BLOWN my mind away. And I mean, at least, a few miles away.


If you still cannot find what's so hilarious about this book, let me ask you a question...

Will you spend 5 bucks for a book which is blank, LITERALLY?

The author has got the gut to publish a blank book. I guess it's her way to say... Men know NOTHING about women.

Come on... Men may be a bit insensitive sometimes, but saying we know nothing about women is a bit harsh... at least we KNOW that we are smarter than women :D

What's Marketing? This is hilarious! :D

You see a gorgeous girl at the party
You go up to her and say, 'I am very rich. Marry me!'

That's direct marketing....


You are at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl.
One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you, says 'He is very rich. Marry him!'

That's advertising....


you see a gorgeous girl at the party. you go up to her and get her telephone number.
The next day u call and say ' Hi, i'm very rich! Marry me....'

That's telemarketing...


You are at the party and see a gorgeous girl.
You get up and straighten your tie.
You walk up to her and pour her a drink.
You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer a ride and then say 'By the way, I'm very rich. Will you marry me..?'

That's public relation ....


You are at the party and see a gorgeous girl.
She walks up to you and says ' You are very rich. I want to marry you..'

That's brand recognition....


You see a gorgeous girl at the party.
You go up to her and say 'I'm Rich. Marry me!'
She gives you a nice hard slap on your face.

That's customer feedback...

On Being Right.

Some of my friends often asked me question when I made decision about something... I very often do something that will make me in a very difficult situation in the future, which make me less popular, and which make some people hate me because of that.

Let me put it very straight. I am not interested in being popular, I am only interested in being right.

It's easy to gossip about people. But it's not so easy when your friend is backstabbed, and you stand up with courage and say "He is my friend, and I will stand by his side." It will make you unpopular, just like Rebecca in The Apprentice 4, who stood up for Toral... NO, I won't keep quiet and say "silent is gold.". That's really not me. I am outspoken person (harsh sometimes) and I will make my stand very clear.

I know, one day, the truth will be discovered, and let's see who will have the last laugh.

Kindness is 15th Century's Vocabulary? I guess not.

If you see a stranger who looks very lost, will you bother to ask him "Hi, How can I help you?" or "Are you looking for a place?"

Everyone, this is Singapore; a place where you find people are not very comfortable talking to strangers, a place where people find it strange if someone asks for direction. Yes, I am sure some of you have experienced how difficult it is to be in one new place which you don't know, especially for someone with limited knowledge of Mandarin like me.

However, yesterday, I found one of some few exceptions. I went to NUS alone for the first time. I was supposed to be heading to Prince George's Park residences there. I took bus number 95 as suggested by the MRT passenger service officer, but the bus driver is not very familiar with places in NUS. So I basically was lost in the bus...

A lady approached me. From her accent, I can guess that she is an Indian national studying at NUS. She asked me where I will be heading, and told me the way to reach there.

I was totally impressed. I guess kindness is not 15th century's vocabulary. It still exists until now!

Today, I went to Jurong Point to eat. When I queued, I saw someone before me who looked very pale. He and his friend talked in Mandarin, and if I guessed correctly (I never say my Mandarin is up to standard), they didn't bring enough money to pay for the noodle. They asked the lady seller to reduce the serving size so it's worth $3.6 instead of $4 (as written there). However, the lady seller didn't want to and asked them to take money from ATM Machine which is at the first level (the kopitiam is at level 3). I was there, so I just told them "Hey, this is 40 cents for you."

They were sooo relieved, didn't expect there will be a kind samaritan there. I know 40 cents is nothing, but if I were in their situation, I would be quite panicked also.

Who says kindness only means giving million-dollar cheque to Charity organization? Sometimes, we can do kind act by asking people "hey, where are you going? you look lost" or just giving 40 cents to people. Yes, sometimes 40 cents is what it takes.... and some courage to help definitely.

Short Story: Rose, My Rose

I met her one month before I was 18, and she was 20. My birthday is on 6 April, and hers, 7 April.

And yes, I love older women. They are sexier and more knowledgeable.

We have a common friend whose birthday is on 5 March, and we just planned to go to the party together. I was single back then, and she had just broken up with her boyfriend.

"Do I look fat in this dress?" She asked me.

"No, you look.. ehmm... okayy..!" I told her. Yes, it's not my type to praise a girl, maybe that's why I am not popular among girls.

"What do you mean by okay?"

"Ohh... okay means, you are presentable... "

"Hmm... I see. Maybe this dress is too simple for me." She was trying to go upstair again to change her dress. Oh Shit I thought, it's going to be forever.

"NOOO... You look perfect, you are just beautiful."

Then her eyes turned SOOO BIG like she saw 1 million dollars, no, 1 billion.

"REALLY??? Thanks, you are so sweet."

GF101 Lesson number 1: Girls like to be praised.


Anyway, who cares. What I cared is ... we were late. That's all.


After the party, people started to gossip whether we were an item. Okay, she is beautiful with a bit of make-up, not the smartest person on earth but she is not going to open her mouth to say "Is Europe a country?" like Catherine McPhee or "I have been to London but never been to England" like Paris Hilton, and the best part is... she is low maintenance. You see, as a student, I don't have 2,000 dollars per-month to buy her cosmetics, to have dinner at expensive restaurant, or such. I am a student, and that word explains everything.

Yup, and finally, we were really together. No party, no expensive dinner, just signing a contract...

I, Benny Pandowo, hereby will treat Rose Edward with respect, love, care, and justice.

I, Rose Edward, hereby will treat Benny Pandowo with respect, love, care, and justice.

I know, the word "justice" seems inappropriate, but that's not my choice (so we know whose.)

We were dating like normal couple. Calling, cuddling, sitting together, eating together, giving each other a morning call, so normal, nothing special.

And as we had all predicted, we were b.o.r.e.d


GF101 Lesson number 2: In a relationship, doing the same thing all the time just won't do the job.

We finally asked each other, do you still love me. Of course I DID. She has been my other half for so long and I can't imagine having to live without her, like the song "Can't live without you!" ... I mean, I can live without you of course, but that just doesn't seem to be very nice. Got it?

She started to write in her blog... "Am I with the wrong person." and "I am getting tired. This relationship is going nowhere." And we started to think that calling each other is a waste of time, money, effort, and energy.

Until one day, we made a consensus, we were gonna take a break for... 15 minutes. No, I mean 15 days. If nothing seems to be different during those days, it means, there's no point to continue this relationship, and we promised to each other that we were going to be very honest with our feeling.

Day 3: I wrote in my MSN nick "No girl, no problem!" and she said "I am FREEEEEEEEEE..."

Day 5: I wrote a joke in my blog "7 reasons why having cats is better than having a girlfriend." and she wrote in her blog "I used to think that lesbians are hopeless, but now I can understand why. "

I MISSED her like crazy, but I am a guy, and guys have high pride. So I remained silent.

Day 9: She wrote in her MSN nick "6 days to go for real happiness" and I wrote in mine "whatever..."

I was getting mad... She is too much! I can't afford to lose her!

Day 14: She wrote in her friendster shoutbox "I was lying" and I wrote in mine "God has forgiven you. Go and don't sin anymore."

Day 15: ...

I was on the way to go to my class, but I felt a very strong urge to open my mailbox.... and I found a letter.

Dear Benny,
I am dying. I used to think we are not meant to be a couple. But just to let you know, I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU. Not a single day. I love you so much.

Love, kiss, hug
Rose

And I saw the date... 25 March 2006, means, just 5 days after our break period! I called her and we burst on tears... on the phone.

It was 6 April 2006. That's the best birthday present I have ever received in my whole life. I was 22 back then, and she was 24, minus 1 day.


GF101 Lesson number 3: Girls can be noisy, demanding, irritating, unreasonable, or anything... but we guys still love them anyway.

It has been 5 years after our marriage, and every time I told her "I need a break.", She said "Let's see how long can it be.. " and she is right, I absolutely can't live without her.

- The End -




Disclaimer:
In real life, the author is not married, yet. He is going to be 22 soon, more handsome than ever, (sadly) still single and sometimes available :)

Be Obedient - What a story!

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Hmm.. sound familiar? Read more please.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the devil decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough." And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?

Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.... By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains. You just P.U.S.H.!



When everything seems to go wrong,... P.U.S.H.!

When the job gets you down,... P.U.S.H.!

When people don't react the way you think they should,... P.U.S.H.!

When you want to curse them out for whatever the reason,... P.U.S.H.!

When people just don't understand you,... P.U.S.H.!


P.U.S.H. = Pray Until Something Happens!

Jokes.. jokes.. and more jokes!!!

Jokes of Teacher and Student

Teacher: “Where were u born?”

Student: “Singapore, Sir.”

Teacher: “Which part?”

Student: “All of me, Sir.”

*****

A teacher was asking her class: “What is the difference between ‘unlawful’ and ‘illegal’?”

Only one hand shot up.

“Ok, answer, Joan,” said the teacher.

“‘unlawful’ is when u do something the law doesn’t allow and ‘ill-egal’ is a sick eagle… Sir.”

*****

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.

MARIA: Here it is!

TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?

CLASS: Maria!

*****

TEACHER: Why are you late, Frank?

FRANK: Because of the sign.

TEACHER: What sign?

FRANK: The one that says, “School Ahead, Go Slow.”

*****

TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?

JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables!

*****

TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell “crocodile?”

GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-A-I-L”

TEACHER: No, that’s wrong

GLENN: Maybe it s wrong, but you asked me how I spell it!

*****

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?

DONALD: H I J K L M N O!!

TEACHER: What are you talking about?

DONALD: Yesterday you said it’s H to O!

*****

TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn’t have ten years ago.

WINNIE: Me!

*****

TEACHER: Goss, why do you always get so dirty?

GOSS: Well, I’m a lot closer to the ground than you are.

*****

TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with “I”.

MILLIE: I is…

TEACHER: No, Millie… Always say, “I am.”

MILLIE: All right… “I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.”

*****

TEACHER: Can anybody give an example of COINCIDENCE?

TINO: Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day, same time.”

*****

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father’s cherry tree, but also admitted doing it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn’t punish him?”

LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

*****

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don’t have to, my Mom is a good cook.

*****

TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on “My Dog” is exactly the same as your brother’s. Did you copy his?

CLYDE: No, teacher, it’s the same dog!

*****

TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?

HAROLD: A teacher.

Easter Reflection

This post is available in bahasa Indonesia as well.

I have just come back from Easter Vigil mass. The choir was awesome and whole mass was just amazing. That's not the point of Easter though.

In this year's Easter, I reflect on 2 things:

1. Why do I attend mass every week?

A catholic mass usually is a 1-hour mass, and the format is always the same every time. So, we can say that the only thing that varies from one mass with the other is the content of the homily (sermon).

So, sometimes I ask myself, why should I bother to attend mass, and not just reading bible at home, or listening to some sermon in youtube or such?

I know this is not the most ideal answer, but I come to a reflection like this.
There's a story when a rich landlord has 2 children. Unlike other landlord's children who usually can enjoy their childhood in a luxurious lifestyle, those 2 children have to work hard in the landlord's corn field every single day. When his neighbours asked him, why he can be so cruel with his children, because he definitely doesn't need the corn that much. He answered... "Friend, I am not raising corn. I am raising children." He doesn't really need the corn, but he still does the process so as to educate the children the importance of hardwork, resilience, etc.

Same with Sunday mass, God wants us to be faithful. God wants us to be very clear with our priority. He wants to be the number one in our life. Every Sunday morning, we can choose to laze around. We can choose to do unfinished office work. However, God wants us to choose the most important of all, to unite ourselves with our creator, God. If we can't even have discipline to attend 1-hour mass every Sunday, I don't think we can we trusted with bigger responsibilities.


2. Baptism

I don't have privilege to be born in a Catholic family. So, I get my catholic education from school, and by choice, decided to be baptized when I was 13. Sometimes I envy my friends who can go to church every Sunday with their whole family, something that I have never experienced, even on the day when I was baptized (none of my parents attended my baptism).

In the mass I attended just now, I saw some parents who were very happy to see their children to be baptized. I can see the joy in their eyes.

I pray to God everyday that my parents can be baptized before they die. I long to the day when I smile while congratulating my mom and dad "Mom, Dad, congratz for the baptism. God bless you." I have faith that day will come.

Happy Easter everyone!! I pray that this year's Easter can be a great blessing to all of you. God bless you always.

We Are The World (best song ever)

What masterpiece would be created if some of the greatest voices of all time sing together in a song? I would say this song is the best song I've ever heard in my entire life.

Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers, and many more. Be ENTERTAINED. BE BLOWN AWAY. This song deserves a 10 out of 10.

Feeling gloomy? Watch this.

Good Friday Reflection

For the Indonesian version, please click here

Today, we Christians celebrate Good Friday, a day when Jesus died on the cross. Everytime I reflect on the scriptures, I am reminded that I am indeed very lucky. Jesus died because of our sins, so we sinners can be saved.

Sometimes I commit sin; so often that I am too ashamed to face God. I am afraid that God will be too angry with me and He will not forgive my sin. I am not saying that God is alright with our sins. He is angry, and disappointed if we, His children commit sin, no matter how small it is. However, He asked us to CONFESS our sins honestly (why must we lie, He knows every single detail of them). And He wants us to move on, and don't sin anymore. No matter how terrible our sin is, He will forgive us.

If you're not convinced with that, you can look at Luke 23:43. When two criminals who have sinned A LOT were crucified together with sinless Jesus, one of the criminals said to his friend who mocked Jesus "we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." and said to Jesus "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

Do you know what Jesus said to him? He said "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

I have encountered that sentence so many times before, but that saying by Jesus never fails to amaze me. Jesus never said to the repenting criminal "Hmm... I think you have repented. BUT too bad!! You have done too much sins, so I can't help you." or "Well, you maybe go to heaven, but I am not very sure." Instead, He ASSURES the criminal that he will be going to paradise with Him.

God bless you all!

Note: this writing is the author's understanding of the bible passage. Because the author does not have any theology background, he might slightly misinterpret the passage. If you understand the bible better than him, please feel free to correct or comment it. Thanks.

Women Explained =P

"Thank God You're Here" Rocks!!!

Want to know how well someone can act in an impromptu scene, without any script whatsoever?
This TV show just made my day (fine, my night)! Some people are just blessed with fantastic acting skill.







This show is SOOO good that even non-English speaking countries like Indonesia copy that. Watch it if you understand Indonesian!

I have a new blog, in Indonesian :)

YUP!!!! Check it out http://bennypandowo.blogspot.com/

That blog is written in informal Indonesian (well, if you refer "formal" as the language for legislation purpose or such, then it IS informal then), but using proper words. I can write and speak in perfect Indonesian (or English) if I want to ... but again, it's back to the purpose of my writing, which is unfortunately, there is something called - too much.

Thanks for visiting the blog. Terima Kasih :)

This is MY blog, this is MY LEGACY.

As some of you might have noticed, I have quited from one of the leading Singapore bloggers' forums, and I don't visit that website anymore.

Looking back, the reason why I joined that website is bcoz I wanted to share my thoughts, my little knowledge (if you want to call it knowledge), or whatever inside my brain to people outside.

HOWEVER, as soon as I joined that website, I changed my style of writing a lot. In the past, I used to write just-about-everything in my mind, without the need to ask "will anyone be interested to read this??". BUT, after joined that website, I become like a professional writer, in the sense, I must keep asking myself about that question... which I must say, very sad.

Now, I can write freely, and I don't care whether people will read or not (But I believe, some of you will still read it even though it's getting boring.)

This is MY blog, this is MY LEGACY.

bursting in tears..

.. and here I am, bursting in tears.

As fragile as leaves...

I used to think that I am very strong, and I refuse to cry no matter how painful it is. In my pray, I told God, "God, thank you for making me so strong. I am alright God" but God told me, "No Benny, you are not alright, Cry.. Cry it out. I am here."

And I am crying... "God, sorry, I am a failure..." but God answered me "Everybody fails, my son. Nevertheless, I still love you."

I cry... and cry... this is me Lord, with all my pride, and weakness. With all my sins and failures.

Here I am my Lord, Jesus Christ. Thanks for not judging me like everybody, thanks for accepting me as I am, and thanks for being with me when I feel that life is hopeless, that I am useless.

Forgive me Lord whenever I feel like suiciding.. I promise Lord, I will live and die according to your will, and I will serve you Lord.

I finally WIN a lucky draw !!!! After TEN YEARS!! =)

I finally win a BMW 7-Series......... NO LAH! A pair of NTU CAC Impresario tickets worth a cool $24! *WHOAA SO COOL AH!!!!* Fine. That's not much, but still... please congratulate this super unlucky person for (finally) win something after 10 years (!!!)

The last time I won something was when I was 12 years old, just 5 days before my birthday, and I got a... birthday cake!

The funny thing is... to get those tickets, I never send any contest whatsoever. Suddenly, an Email reached my Inbox saying that I win that contest... ehemm.

And the worst part is, I couldn't go bcoz I have more important thing to attend which is my HEAVENLY 2-HOUR NAP SESSION!!! I think if you can take nap 2 hours a day, you are among 2% of luckiest persons on earth! (no statistics to prove that though =P)

Very lazy lah to go there to watch Impresario or what... I can easily watch American Idol, only about 20 steps away from my cosy room. I have also asked around to give away those pity tickets, but noone wants them! Maybe they will watch if I were among the finalists of that impresario. With this voice quality of mine, I think they will need to wait at least 50 years before that happens if I practise 6 hours a day with Josh Groban as my teacher.

You think your job sucks? Think again.. :D

Feel better now? :)

I finally get my Juventus Jersey!!! YAYY!!!!

I wanted to buy that jersey last year in Malaysia, but the seller told me in disbelief... "Hey, you tell me which store sells serie B football team (jersey)..." OK Fine, he got his point.

Since then, whenever I got the chance to visit sport-attire shops, I always look for this jersey, but I can't find it... So everytime I walk and see that black-and-white stripped jersey, I hope that is Juventus jersey so I can ask him where to buy it (I am serious with that)... but everytime, it's not Juventus jersey but Newcastle United jersey!! and since then I hate Newcastle United so much! *So when Man United beat them 6-0 and 5-1, I laughed so loud until crying. hueheheheHEHEAHAHAHAHAHA --> super evil*

And finally, my only younger brother, yoky, a creative designer with amazing talent, bought the jersey for me!!! Yay! So happy..

Survey shows... Juventus is the most hated club in the world (It has the most number of haters).. but I don't care. I don't do something to make me popular, I do something that is right. And if that makes people hate me, let be it. *tissue please..*

I love this club too much since 1995. Thirteen years, and I never look back, not once. *fist hand...*

Yup this is exactly how I will look like when I wear that jersey... Fine, a bit shorter, less muscle, and add some fat... but MORE HANDSOME definitely.. *awww... thank you!*

BLOGGERS.. We NEED your opinion!!!

I have been asked by Nanyang Tribune (NTU's newspaper) to write an article regarding "online phenomenon" *clap please.. awww thanks so much :D*

I will be touching on 3 things: blogging, online forum, and audio-video community like youtube.

Anyway.. to make the view more objective and not solely based on whatever inside my head, I NEED your opinion with these questions about blogging (what's better way to know about blogging than asking bloggers?). You don't have to answer all three.

1. What's the main objective of blogging for you? Is it simply bcoz you like to write, or you want to vent out certain feeling? Or ehemm.. monetary reason? Come on.. we don't eat grass, so we all need money. Don't be ashamed to tell me okay?

2. How do you measure your blogging success? is it by the number of visitors.. or about how you can change people's life in certain way? or again EHEMM... money money money?

3. Do you have any interesting experience with your blogging experience? I know someone out there who become a couple bcoz of blogging.. Your experience might not be that extreme, but hey, that's still interesting and we will love to hear that!

Do reach me by commenting on this post or if you have so much to write, you can send it to my E-mail benny.ntu@gmail.com

If you have opinions regarding online forum and/or audio-video community, do feel free to tell me also okay!!!

Thanksssss a million guys!! I will scan the newspaper here after it's published (around end of March)...

If you give me your opinion, I would love to send cutting of that article and mail it to your house free of charge!! With my signature on it and my name card and my close-up photo (I think you will say No, Thanks for the last 3 items but still it's okay to offer something haha...)

A disabled dog that can teach us how to be Grateful..

My dear, it's so touching indeed..

This Insomnia is killing me!

I have trouble in sleeping these days. I don't even need an alarm bcoz I always wake up before the alarm rings.. Maybe bcoz the weather is terribly hot (or am I getting fatter instead?). Sometimes I wake up bcoz of bad dreams... with sweaty palms.. bloody nose and shouting "NO, DON'T SHOOT ME.. I HAVE WIFE, TWO SMALL KIDS, AND ONE DOG TO FEED."

Ahem.. I am a bit exaggerating here.. but the feeling is not far from that. You get my point.

- Last night
I dreamed that I did my exam without preparing for it at all. That's correct that I need to catch-up some modules, but could I just have 7-hour sleep in peace..

- 6 days ago
I woke up bcoz I dreamed of being shot alive after being kidnapped (okay, it's a bit redundant, who on earth will shoot dead people?). That's maybe bcoz I gave a really serious thought regarding a job offer given to me. The company is going to send me to Jakarta, Indonesia, and everyone knows, Jakarta is not very safe.

- Yesterday
I couldn't take a nap (in fact, taking a nap is my favourite of all time..). My mind was just wondering.

Those are just some examples....

Maybe I think too much... Yes it's true that I consume quite a bit of tea these days.. but I used to consume the same amount of coffee in the past and that didn't disturb my sleep.

Anyways... bcoz of that, I decided to listen to some old-songs to help me to relax..




A very nice song by the legendary Diana Ross - If We Hold on Together.

Wish me a nice sleep tonight, am I asking too much?