Sabtu, 27 Februari 2010

What an SD name!

SD can mean anything. Any people can define this abbreviation into anything they know or think of. They can translate it into sekolah dasar, sand disk, silver dope, sandra dewi or somehing else.

But to me, SD has been a special abbreviation, that I had written poetry to it and being fascimated by it. The name had invoked some awakening of the long forgotten dream.

The person behind the abbreviation may think differently about the way I perceived the SD naming. It doesn't matter to me of course. Because some people just felt too much about any one else's thought. The reason for that is because the feeling and the thinking were through me not by me.

How's that happened? Well, quite simple. If you have tried to avoid the thinking and refuse yourself into feeling the feeling, you are considered as being conciously stepping out of the deliberate approach. In such, you don't need to be embarrased of doing what you were doing. By letting yourself surrender to the feeling, then you also surrender all the consequences of that feeling into the Almighty. It is from Him and it shall be returned to Him alone. At the same time keeping your mind alert on any thing that may come in between.

So, what happened afterwards is self gratifying, a kind of out of body experience. Thus the feeling is transformed into transcendental feeling. Knowing so well Whom you are dealing with instead of just looking at the person himself.
Because of that kind of experience, SD has been a special name in which I can relate myself to the name with such a fondness.

Kamis, 25 Februari 2010

Mission (not) accomplished

How do you define an accomplishment of a mission? Will you mission be accomplished when you have finished the execution of what you intent to do? Or when you have finished the execution and the effect is set afoot?

Well, the redifinition on accomplishing the mission is something I need to do after contemplative thinking on the previous experience. Do you know why? I tell you why.

Last week I was given an easy choice whether staying home to do my work and rest myself (I felt tired of travelling, you know) or going to another city for spiritual enlightenment. The pure and thirsty self would certainly choose the latter, right? But not me. I decided that I took the former.

So I stayed home, working on my overdue work, enjoy my quiet time with electricity off (this wasn't on the plan) and laid back. The main reason was my overdue work had been cleared away. Was it really so?

Well, I have to say no. Taking a wrong reason for something that is so obvious, is only meant that I have made a wrong choice from the beginning. Because what I thought had been accomplished is now going back to zero. Another words all the effort has been zero off. All the work has gone as is nothing has been done. An unconcious act has made all the choice of staying home means nothing because there is not any benefit I can take from that choice. What seems to be the accomplishment has dissappeared into nothingness.
Is it because of the first intention has been mistaken? Is it just some kind of coincidence? Or is it just my stupidity? Well, my contemplative thought gave me some answers. And the answer is yes, my intention isn't noble, yes, it isn't coincidence and you are definitely stupid for not listening to the voice of the heart :)

Kemunafikan atau Kekhawatiran?

Minggu ini saya membaca artikel tentang ditutupnya akun twitter Mario Teguh, seorang motivator yang banyak dikenal melalui acara di Metro Mario Teguh Golden Ways (MTGW). Alasan penutupannya karena salah satu dari kalimat yang dia rilis di situs pertemanan twitter menjadi bahan perdebatan banyak orang. Kalimat yang menimbulkan perdebatan itu menyebutkan tentang wanita yang suka keluar malam, clubbing, mabuk, perokok bukanlah wanita yang dapat direncanakan untuk menjadi istri.

Beberapa orang menanggapi dari sudut pandang feminisme karena penyebutan wanita atau istri yang menimbulkan bias gender. Disisi lain, ada yang menanggapi dari aspek ekonomi. Pertimbangan besaran biaya atau ongkos yang harus dikeluarkan oleh mereka yang melakukan aktivitas tersebut jelas bisa berpengaruh pada aspek ekonomi keluarga. Disisi lain ada juga yang menanggapi dari aspek etika perilaku. Tipikal mereka yang suka melakukan aktivitas seperti yang disebutkan itu jelas adalah jenis orang yang cenderung pada gaya hidup hedonis dan mempunyai perilaku yang cenderung individualis dan mencari kesenangan pribadi.

Yang agak menarik untuk diamati adalah penolakan yang muncul atas pernyataan yang disampaikan itu, utamanya dari mereka yang memang sebagai pelaku dan mendapat atribut seperti yang dimaksud.

Bagi saya pribadi, penerimaan dan pengakuan bahwa memang demikianlah adanya dirinya yang sementara ini belum bisa menjadi yang sebaliknya, adalah jauh lebih baik daripada menolak dengan berbagai alasan. Karena menurut saya fitrah manusia baik yang agamis maupun non agamis, menyadari ukuran-ukuran yang disampaikan adalah memang tidak pantas ada pada mereka yang akan menjadi ibu, yang akan menjadi pendidik generasi penerus dan yang akan menjadi pengayom bagi putra-putrinya.

Bagaimana seorang wanita bisa diminta bertanggungjawab atas pendidikan anak yang dilahirkan atau dalam asuhannya, jika dia lebih sibuk mengurusi kesenangannya sendiri?

Sehingga penolakan atas pernyataan tersebut dalam pandangan saya sebenarnya adalah wujud kekhawatiran dan rasa bersalah atas pilihan gaya hidup yang mereka ambil. Ketakutan karena menyadari gaya hidup 'tak sehat' itu baik langsung maupun tak langsung berdampak pada pola keluarga yang akan mereka bina nantinya.

Jika nurani sudah menyuarakan itu dalam bentuknya yang lain, kenapa harus ditutupi dengan berbagai alasan mengatas-namakan demokrasi dan feminisme? Apa itu bukan wajah lain kemunafikan?

Admit it and improve from it! Jauh lebih elegan dan terhormat :)

Senin, 22 Februari 2010

Sex Talk, is it taboo?

I grow up in a religious family, where topic on sexuality will only be discussed in secretive or privately. In fact, up to now that I'm mature enough to talk or discuss about it, I have never been told by my sisters or aunts who have married about it. So you can say that my understanding about sexuality is coming from books. And my experience? It almost goes to zero, Almost :)
And beginning of this year, has been quite unique. I still don't understand why it happened. Or maybe it was some kind of a sign, I don't know! What happened was I had been asked coincidently (or it may not be coincident) to get involved in sex talk twice from two different person.
The first one is female (I think). We talked about masturbation on woman. What happened was she asked me if I ever masturbated. I was quite shock :) Because I thought masturbation is only man did it. Apparently some women also do that. She even told me how to do it since I never did it before.

The second one is male. He asked me to be his partner in sexual chat. this requeat was also quite shocking to me. Because I just heard about people do that in the internet but never experienced it. So here is a proof shot right back to me.

Out of curiosity while hardening my emotional involvement I followed through their request to get some understanding of their expectation or reason behind it. And my conclusion is: I'm still the kind of conservative person in which I value marriage as a sacred arena to express your sexuality.

Jumat, 19 Februari 2010

Rasa yang Tepat butuh Waktu yang Tepat

Selama beberapa bulan hampir setahun, saya telah menyimpan sebuah sachet selai strowberi kecil yang belum juga saya makan berdampingan dengan roti maupun makanan utama lain. Entah karena lupa untuk mencarikannya pendamping atau karena sedang tidak ingin makan selai. Setiap kali melihat sachet kecil itu tergeletak di atas tutup kotak kue, saya hampir selalu berpikir membuangnya karena merasa tidak perlu.Karena roti-roti yang terhidang dan saya punya bukan jenis roti tawar yang cocok dengan selai itu.

Saya tidak ingat dari mana saya dapatkan selai itu. Mungkin waktu di perjalanan naik pesawat, dan salah satu menu yang diberikan adalah roti dengan sachet selai kecil itu. Yang jelas begitulah selai itu tidak tersentuh sama sekali untuk waktu yang sangat lama. Setiap kali saya akan membuangnya, entah kenapa saya seperti diingatkan untuk tidak melakukannya, karena itu tindakan mubadzir. Sementara saya juga kuatir kalau batas kadaluarsanya sudah lewat. Yang jelas sachet selai itu masih dalam keadaan utuh tersegel belum tersentuh udara luar.

Hingga satu malam, ketika saya berniat sahur untuk puasa di pagi harinya. Waktu itu saya sedang malas makan nasi karena malamnya sudah makan sepiring penuh lontong sayur. Dan kebetulan sebelumnya saya sudah sahur dengan oatmeal dicampur madu, mengikuti ide kakak. Karena saya terlalu banyak memberi madu, rasanya jadi agak eneg. Pagi harinya saya titip untuk dibelikan kismis untuk dicampur dengan oatmeal, tapi ternyata Ibu yang saya titipi bilang, tidak ada yang jual kismis.. (Agak heran juga, masak tidak ada toko yang jual kismis?! Tidak juga Alfamart dekat pasar desa?!). Sehingga malam itu saya makan oatmeal campur susu bubuk rasa vanila.Tentu saja kalau hanya oatmeal dicampur susu bubuk rasa vanilla, yang akan saya dapatkan adalah makanan berbentuk bubur tawar yang tidak menimbulkan selera.

Saat itulah saya melihat kembali sachet selai strowberi yang hampir-hampir akan saya buang itu. Melihatnya teronggok disana dalam diam, tiba-tiba pikiran saya menemukan ide untuk mencampurkannya dalam oatmeal saya. Dan saya tahu waktunya tepat bagi selai strowberi itu untuk bermanfaat setelah sekian lamanya menanti dan bahkan hampir saja masuk tempat sampah.

Tentu saja, kombinasi rasa yang dihasilkan antara oatmeal, susu vanilla dan selai strowberi itu buat saya jauh lebih lezat dibanding rasa tawar hasil cicipan sebelumnya dan tersaji lebih menarik. Karena sekarang ada rasa manis dalam bubur oatmeal itu dan warna putih kemerahan selai. Dan yang tidak kalah pentingnya bubur itu juga merupakan makanan sehat yang menunjang laku vegetarian yang mestinya saya lakukan saat itu.

Sambil menikmati hidangan itu, saya teringat dengan diri saya yang sedang menanti sang pangeran menjemput saya menuju singgasana perkawinan :-) dan saya menyadari tibanya waktu itu kadangkala menimbulkan rasa tawar dalam hati. Namun pada saat yang sama saya juga tahu, saya tidak punya kuasa apapun persis seperti sachet selai kecil yang teronggok tidak berdaya menanti takdir memberikan manfaat atas keberadaannya sebagai selai untuk dinikmati sebagai hidangan J

Pengalaman makan sahur itu mengajarkan sesuatu: tidak ada yang sia-sia dalam penantian. Dengan berserah diri pada kehendak Tuhan yang Maha Kuasa, maka Dia pula yang akan memilihkan waktu yang tepat bagi saya. Dan ketika waktu yang tepat itu diberikan, sudah tentu dengan keyakinan atas Maha Bijaksananya Dia, rasa yang ditimbulkan juga akan selezat yang Dia maksudkan.

Making an opening paragraph

Q: I have difficulty in " How to make opening paragraph in english" when i want to write a formal letter in english like application or MEMO and others, i always have difficulty to make the opening word. I often not feel confident to write what in my mind on the paper, i am too scared if what i have writen is wrong..soo please frends give me an advices what should i do to make my self more confident..so i dont have tobe scared anymore when i want to write a formal letter.

A: Making opening paragraph in english is just the same like making opening paragraph in bahasa. If you aren't sure about the writing, all you need to do is to follow the simple basic rule of sentence structure in both english and bahasa that is
S (subject) + P (predicate) + O (object) + Adverb.
All you need to do is be confident with your writings :-)

I remember when i started to learn writing in english, I wrote the bahasa version first then translated it into english. If you are familiar in writing opening paragraph in bahasa you can try to do this first. Gradually when you gain more confidence and your vocabulary improve through reading and practice, your mind start to remember the sentence structure in english, then it will be a simple matter to write opening paragragh directly in english.

Another thing you can say to yourself is THERE IS NO RULES of letter structure for informal letter, though we all know that in our school lesson we have been introduced to the letter structure which is
first paragraph - introduction,
second paragraph and on - content,
last paragraph - wrap up/summary/closure depend on the topics you're writing.

Usually when I write long letter and it comes from a habit of writing in bahasa, when I shifted the topic into something else, I started new paragraph. To make the shifting is quite smooth I used conjunction words.

Everything takes time and practice makes perfect :-)

Courting vs Lobbying

Q : need your help, i got a little confuse about this sentence
is there anyone can help me what is this mean "We have been courting so many times, in order you can make a conclusion" what does the "courting" means?

A: I think the closest meaning of 'courting' in your sentence is melakukan pendekatan. So the meaning of the sentence will be:
We have been courting so many times, in order you can make a conclusion
Kita sudah melakukan pendekatang berulang kali, agar anda sampai pada satu kesimpulan.

In our daily the word courting can have different meaning, but the essence of it is as mention in the thesaurus:
Courting:
.tr.
1.
a. To attempt to gain; seek: courting wealth and fame.
b. To behave so as to invite or incur: courts disaster by taking drugs.
2. To try to gain the love or affections of, especially to seek to marry.
3. To attempt to gain the favor of by attention or flattery: a salesperson courting a potential customer.
4. Zoology To behave so as to attract (a mate).
v.intr.
1. To pursue a courtship; woo.
2. Zoology To engage in courtship behavior.

In bahasa, the word courting can be interpreted as :
- pacaran though the closest meaning will be to our slang pedekate / PDKT
- mengundang, menghendaki, mencari atau menantang yang arahnya adalah melakukan pendekatan untuk menarik perhatian dari sesuatu yang di 'courting' itu.

Courting is quite different from lobbying, even though lobbying can also be translated as melakukan pendekatan but the purpose is quite different. Referring to the thesaurus

lobbying:
.intr.
To try to influence the thinking of legislators or other public officials for or against a specific cause: lobbying for stronger environmental safeguards; lobbied against the proliferation of nuclear arms.
v.tr.
1. To try to influence public officials on behalf of or against (proposed legislation, for example): lobbied the bill through Congress; lobbied the bill to a negative vote.
2. To try to influence (an official) to take a desired action

Minggu, 14 Februari 2010

Corporate dan Company

Q: Bisa bantu gak menjelaskan penggunaan kata corporate dan company mungkin bisa dikasih contoh penggunaannya.kalau saya ingin meletakkan dalam kata"Company development consultant atau corporate development consultant apa bedanya?

A: Please see below information on the three words from freedictionary.com :
Corporate - company - corporation.

cor·po·rate  (kôrpr-t, kôrprt)adj.
1. Formed into a corporation; incorporated: the corporate companies of industrial America.
2. Of or relating to a corporation: corporate assets; corporate culture.
3. United or combined into one body; collective: made a corporate effort to finish the job.
4. Of or relating to a corporative government or political system.


company [ˈkʌmpənɪ]n pl -nies
1. a number of people gathered together; assembly
2. the fact of being with someone; companionship I enjoy her company
3. a social visitor or visitors; guest or guests
4. (Business / Commerce) a business enterprise
5. (Business / Commerce) the members of an enterprise not specifically mentioned in the enterprise's title Abbreviations Co. co
6. (Performing Arts / Theatre) a group of actors, usually including business and technical personnel
7. (Military) a unit of around 100 troops, usually comprising two or more platoons
8. (Transport / Nautical Terms) the officers and crew of a ship
9. (Non-sporting Hobbies / Other Non-sporting Hobbies) a unit of Girl Guides
10. (Historical Terms) English history a medieval guild

cor·po·ra·tion  (kôrp-rshn)n.
1. A body that is granted a charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members.
2. Such a body created for purposes of government. Also called body corporate.
3. A group of people combined into or acting as one body.
4. Informal A protruding abdominal region; a potbelly.

Kesimpulannya:
Corporate adalah kata sifat yang terkait dengan suatu corporation / perusahaan.

Company dan corporation adalah kata benda.

Kalau dari definisi di atas:
Company lebih pada perusahaan secara umum (lihat definisi no. 4). Bisa perusahaan keluarga, usaha bersama baik yang terbuka maupun tertutup.

Corporation lebih dekat dengan sejenis perseroan terbatas (PT) yang membedakan hak dan tanggung jawab pemegang saham dengan perusahaan (lihat definisi no 1).

Dalam pilihan contoh frasa:
Company development consultant atau corporate development consultant

Bisa jadi keduanya benar.

Company development consultant means consultant for the development of the (particular) company.

Corporate development consultant means consultant on corporate development matters (can be any corporation)

Rabu, 10 Februari 2010

Penggunaan dan makna kata 'up'

Seorang teman bertanya tentang kata 'up' yang banyak terdapat pada frase-frase bahasa Inggris. Dan saya berbagi pengertian saya pribadi tentang kata tersebut. Maka inilah respon saya di sebuah milis belajar bahasa Inggris.

Kata 'up' sendiri mempunyai arti 'atas', sesuatu yang bermakna bagian atas, mengarah ke atas, utama, besar atau prioritas.

Ketika dia digabung dengan kata kerja maka dia membentuk frase atau idiom yang memunculkan arti baru. Kala dlm bahasa Indonesia masuk kategori kata majemuk, yang arti barunya bisa jadi agak berbeda dengan kata dasarnya semisal biang keladi, ringan tangan, tangan dingin, anak bawang, dsb.

Dalam memahami phrase atau idiom ini tentu kita tidak bisa lagi mengartikan 'up' sebagai atas tetapi harus melihat pada makna yang dikandung dalam kata 'up' itu. Paling tidak metode ini yang saya gunakan untuk mengetahui arti yang paling dekat dari suatu idiom apabila saya jauh dari dictionary dan hanya tahu arti kata kerja utamanya. Tentunya untuk mengetahui arti yang lebih tepat, kemudian saya harus saya cross-check dengan kamus yang ada dgn melihat pada bagian kata yang menyertai kata 'up'.

Hal yang sama juga berlaku untuk idiom yang menggunakan kombinasi preposisi lain spt kata:
- 'over' menjadi: fly over, game over, hang over, get over dsb.
- 'in' menjadi: turn in, give in, break in dsb.

Ada buku lama yang cukup bagus n saya yakin banyak tersedia di perpustakaan universitas (mestinya juga dijual di pasaran, though I'm not sure) yaitu English Idiomatic terbitan Longman. Di bagian terakhir menerangkan berbagai arti dari idiom2 yang ditanyakan itu. Barangkali anda bisa search di internet.

Jumat, 05 Februari 2010

The usage of Neither and Either

After my previous answer, somebody asked about the usage og neither ...nor in comparison ot either ...or that I explained earlier.

Because he was confused by my statement regarding the use of either that can be applied in negative sentence. His understanding is that negative sentence should use 'neither .. nor' instead of 'either .. or' as I mentioned earlier.

Well, it's quite different in term of Indonesian meaning as asked by the first person. So here's the explanation for it.

Neither is used for negative sentence. But the negative intention is usually structured in the form of positive sentence, for example:
- Neither going to the furthest part of the earth nor hiding inside the house will save you from the death angel.(Tidaklah pergi ke tempat terjauh di bumi ataupun bersembunyi dalam rumah akan menyelamatkan anda dari malaikat kematian).

You see the structure of the main clause is using will (positive) not won't (negative)

In such, the above example can also be stated using either ... or ...and it will become:
- Either going to the furthest part of the earth or hiding inside the house will not save you from the death angel.

Please note the structure of main clause is using 'will not' as negative remark.

Kamis, 04 Februari 2010

The use of the word 'either' and 'whether'

Seorang teman bertanya tentang beda penggunaan kata 'either' dan 'whether' dalam bahasa Inggris.

Maka berikut ini adalah jawaban yang saya berikan berdasarkan pemahaman dan pengetahuan yang saya terima selama ini.

As far as I know, the use of either is different from whether.

The word 'either' is used when you have two or more options both in negative and positive forms e.g.:
- Either going to Surabaya or visiting her grandmother doesn't make any different because her grandmother lives in Surabaya too
(Entah/Apa pergi ke Surabaya atau mengunjungi neneknya tak ada bedanya sebab neneknya tinggal di Surabaya)

- You don't have any choice in this situation, either surrender yourself or you go to prison. Both are the safest way to solve your problem
(Anda tak punya pilihan dalam situasi ini, entah/apakah menyerahkan diri atau anda masuk penjara. Keduanya adalah jalan teraman untuk mengatasi masalah anda)

- We should do trial conference call either by skype or yahoo messenger before invite a bigger number of people there
(Kita sebaiknya mencoba conference call entah/apa menggunakan skype atau yahoo messenger sebelum mengundang lebih banyak orang kesana)

The word 'whether' is used in indirect sentence for interogative question (yes-no answer) e.g.:

- Do you want some milk? (Direct sentence for interrogative)
The indirect sentence will be:
I asked them whether they wanted some milk.
( Saya bertanya pada mereka apakah mereka mau susu)

- are you ready to go?
The indirect sentence will be She asked her friend (man) whether he was ready to go.
(Dia bertanya pada temannya (pria) apa dia siap pergi)

Please note that the word 'whether' can be replaced by the word 'if' that has the same meaning. So the above example can also be stated:
- I asked them if they wanted some milk.
- She asked her friend (man) if he was ready to go.