Sunday, August 31, 2008

My First Sahur

As I run out of meat, I bought some shrimps and lettuce...plus canned tuna (my husband's fav). I would try to cook myself

At 2 am I got up and cooked. The shrimps had been cleaned and lettuces had been sliced in the afternoon. So I just had to slice some bombay garlic, and ordinary garlic. By 2.20 am, It's done. My shrimps lettuce . The tuna was easy to cook...just flake them in oil

I made some slices of papaya and melon as the fruit...the final was making the a glass of milk for my husband...for me, i just drink some fresh mineral water...

2.50 a.m washing the clothes and the dishes

3.10 taking witir prayer as the closing prayer for my taraweeh

3.30 am, waking up my husband and we had our sahur...alhamdulillah, we had pretty good appetite this morning

Taraweeh with Children

Alhamdulillah, last night, my husband and I went for Taraweeh pray at the neighbouring mosque. Well, I kind of forced him to go with me...lol, since it's great if we could go for the prayer at the very first Ramadan. We were still so tired after shopping for sahur preparation...and we were not so lucky that afternoon as we were too late to buy some meat...all were invaded by mothers, lol. It's a shopping frantic day for mothers for first sahur preparation.

In the mosque, I found it hard to concentrate as 40% were toddlers and children. On my left were two girls of 6 and a boy. In my front was a 6 or 7 years old boy. Now, I wandered why these of boys of this age still took place in the women space. So, in my thought I was thingking that may be their dad did not go so they took place in their playgroup instead. On my right was a mother with her 2 years old son. Well, I should say that was pretty a mayhem. The 2 years old kid kept running to and fro in front of shaft...and the three kids were giggling and talking while praying...trying to to tease the baby. While the boy in front of me was just sitting ...he's a quite boy... And at one moment, I had to divert my 'sujud' as the baby was standing right in front of me...lol. On some occasion, he climbed to his mother's back when she's making a 'sujud'. It's really hard to focus with all these children.

But I love them all...on Ramadan like this, many mothers would take their children for Taraweeh pray... It's quite amusing looking at their behaviors and actions...though I think their mother should at first explain the rules in the mosque...but children will always be children...at their age, when they come together, they only want to play around...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

THE GUEST HOUSE

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival
.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


~ Rumi ~

(The Essential Rumi, versions by Coleman Barks)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Tears of Al Aqsa

Al-Aqsa

The farthest mosque

Where Holy Phrophet ascended to heaven

Accompanied with the Arch angel, Gabriel

To start a spiritual journey to meet The Divine

Al-Aqsa

The farthest mosque

Sacred place of the Divine

Now drown in tears

Of pain and sadness

To witness mass destruction inflicted

By evil of transgressors

With the lust of blood

Al-Aqsa

The farthest mosque

Most dearer of holy shrine

Now in the verge of annihilation

By blood thirsty combatants

Whose only desire to take life

To erase peace at the sanctuary

To grow their false belief and ideology

Children Of Huang Shi - The Bitter Sea

Based on real events The Children of Huang Shi is a sweeping but intimate story set against war-torn China in 1930-s. The film centers on a young British journalist (Jonathan Rhys Myers) and an Autralian nurse (Rada Mitchell) with the leader of a Chinese partisan group (Chow Yut Fa) who meet in desperate and unexpected circumstances. Together, they rescued 60 orphaned children, leading them on extraordinary journey across hundreds of miles of treacherous terrain, through snow-covered mountains and an unforgiving desert of the former Silk Road to reach a safety harbor. Along the way they discover the true meaning of love, responsibility and courage.

Watching this film reminds me The Constant Gardener, Tears of The Sun…the theme of courage, responsibility and love … the gut to stand for the truth… A hero might be born everywhere and anywhere in spite of their race, ethnicity, region or religion… self-sacrifice for greater good. But unlike The Constant Gardener and Tears of the Sun, the film was based on real life events of young British journalist George Hogg. Some additional were put inside but they did not alter much the real story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hogg.

At the beginning, George Hogg sneaked into China by pretending to be a Red Cross aid worker to replace his friend from the assignment (his friend was about to get married within two days, so he could not let him do the task assigned by their editor). Arriving at Nanjing, he witnessed the atrocities of the Japanese soldiers. He had seen what he was not supposed to see. Mass civilians were slaughtered mercilessly in front of his eyes. He captured the tragedy in his camera … sweating and panting, he felt sick to see the massacre field had turned into a blaze of fire. Caught off guard, he was arrested by the Japs and his camera was confiscated. His sentence was death… The Japs would not risk anything with his forbidden knowledge. As the executioner was about to behead him, Hangshen/Jack Chen, a leader of Chinese partisan group saved him. Along their way to safety, George saw the execution of his two colleagues from their hiding place. As the Japanese marched towards them, they jumped into the river. He was wounded and Jack brought him to the Red Cross tent where they met Lee Pearson, an Australian nurse who helped the wounded.

Jack intended to bring George into safety so he could tell the world about what really happened in China. The plan was postponed as the Japanese air raid was widespread. So, he decided to send George into an orphanage school at Huang Shi…the plan was simple to get him out of Nanjing and to give him time to recovery from his wounds. Out of his expectation, the orphanage was in a neglected poor condition. The children were dirty and shabby. They had no hope in life. They only had fear and sad memories about their family…a horror of the war. It’s like a bitter sea he would swim into. In addition, he had no experience in teaching…he was a journalist not a teacher. Upon his arrival, he already got adversary and strong dislike from the children. They looked at him with suspicion and hate for a stranger. The children were kept their distance and stayed aloof. Even, George got several beatings from them before saved by Lee. It’s a hard long struggle for him.

As time went by, he began to understand their pain and sufferings. He began to feel what they feared and frightened…what it’s like to live without any hope or future…life in war… how the war devastated not only physically but also mentally. The physics was easy to mend, but the mental was the hardest part. It was seen in the character of Liu Kai, an aristocrat’s son who witnessed his family members brutally tortured and killed by the Japs. The war had turned him mature too soon with so much hatred and rage. He was hard to heal. George saw this with a broken heart. His perspective of life was altered ultimately. He was a middle class British who came from an ultimately different world and culture to pursue his career as journalist. Now, he was confronted with harsh cold realities of war. He had found his courage and strength. He had to bring back these children’s life… it was his war. He had to save them from despair. He tried hard to ignite hope in them. He repaired the electricity, planted garden, built a simple basketball field. Gradually, he earned them respect and obedience. They regained their hope and life vivacity. George became their teacher, parents and guardian. Lee, often visited the orphanage to supply medication for the children and she was impressed with the alteration of the orphanage. It’s now a decent place to live in.

However, the war would soon reach Huang Shi. On his way back from the town to buy farming supplies, he came across refugees’ congregation that escaped from the nearby town. The Japanese air raid attacked this refugees…leaving some children parentless on the street. George had to take four of them to the orphanage. He knew his children would no longer in Huang Shi and planned to take them to safer region. They had to be evacuated. It was decided they should march across the former Silk Road to reach Shandan. Together with Lee and Chen, they led the group through the Liu Phan Shan Mountain, across the scorching Gobi desert. The journey nearly took three months … it’s an impossible road to take …but George and his children had strong faith to succeed.

Some critics said this film is great but boring. But I think it’s a great movie to watch…there a valuable moral lesson in it. The view of China landscape is also awesome…It teaches its viewers that a hero is one who puts others interests above his own… a choice to dedicate life for others…to bring good for others without any personal gain. And each person has a choice whether to follow the path of a hero or a coward.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

IN THEE, I SEEK REFUGE

Lord,

King of all,

I knee seeking refuge in Thee

From evil of darkening deed

That has casted its wings on me

Leading me astray from Your path

O, Master of the day of requital

God of all,

I knee seeking refuge in Thee

To learn sacrifice and endurance

As instrument to gain peace

Cast hatred away with love

Lock vengeance with a forgive

Eliminate doubt with Iman of strong faith

O, Divine master

I knee seeking refuge in thee

When despair beguiles, show me hope

When darkness falls, show me light

When sadness comes, show me contentment

When I am lost, show me the way

O, Lord of all the worlds

Most affectionate and merciful

In Thee, I surrender

Heart and soul

MY ANGEL

Today is about my little cute sweet nephew... No idea to write at the moment and I happened to miss him so much...his laughters and little juveniele... He's two years and 2 months old by now. His vocabulary is increasing tremendously ...and he likes to draw in anything he found with his pencil...wall, bycycle, books are now his objects to draw on... He has one small bycycle which he loves to play with...not yet able to ride it, so he just walk and run while pushing the bike. He still drinks his milk in his little bottle.

Those photos were taken when we took him to visit Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Indonesia Miniature Park). We took him to to fresh water aquarium park where there various fresh water fishes. Also there were various butterflies living in Indonesia being displayed. He had great time there...running to and fro among the tanks...sometimes, trying to cath the fish, lol. It needed extra energy to follow him around.

He's like an underwater prince with all those tank fishes, lol.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Month of Serenity

Ramadhan,

A blessed month of all

In this holy month lies a night

That is better than a thousand months

When Gabriel and all angels bow their heads

The stars and comets dance in celebration

The moon sends its bright light

The universe sink in solemn dzikir

To welcome most precious night

Ramadhan,

Most glorious month of all

Full of mercy and love of the Divine

A Purification for the soul

In fasting, completely surrendering heart and spirit

Solely to The Most merciful

Hoping to cast away sins of the past

To start anew with strengthened Iman

Ramadhan,

Most cherished gift of the Divine

For mankind to redeem and repent

Most precious time not to waste in vain

But to praise His name in asmaul husna

Within this month of love

lies serenity and peace

Summary of Me

I write this down after reading Maryam's blog...ehm, I've been trying as honest as I could in answering...

I am: a constant traveler...trying to unlock the mystery of my life :-)

I think: too much sometimes...like a spider web that has no beginning and end

I know: I am not yet a good muslimah

I want: the earth go green again...full of forests, flowers, flora and fauna...no factories, no skyscrappers, no electricity...just nature and men

I have: many blessings to be grateful for

I wish: i had three cute little babies in my arms right now

I hate: too much heat

I miss: my home town and parents

I fear: snakes

I feel: so good right now!

I hear: the echo of air conditioning...

I smell: apple...

I crave: ....

I search: For greater patience and contentment.

I wonder: What my life would be like to live in the time of Muhammad (peace be upon him)

I regret: Many things …. May Allah forgive me for those ..

I love: the splendor of the nature ...

I ache: to see poor begging on the streets

I care: For feelings of others

I always: cry when i am mad or sad

I am not: a strick person

I dance: ....

I sing: when I am in the mood of singing

I cry: when i am mad or sad

I don’t always: Get what i want

I fight: only when it is necessary

I write: On my blog ...or when there's a writing competition in my office :-)

I win:

I lose: my wedding ring...

I never: ....

I confuse : when I am in the middle of two warlords, lol

I listen: .....

I can usually be found: at bed, sleeping, lol

I am scared: Of Hell-Fire ... and snake

I need: a vacation with my husband

I am happy about: everthing little gift that I have...

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I AM ON PALU

This day, I had a chance to peep on my mulitply...I've been away since Sunday to travel to Palu. It's the capital of Central Sulawesi...yeah, it's a very far far away from home...it took three hours by plane from Jakarta. The flight reminded me of my previous travel to Ambon.

This time, the trip was not as fun as I expected or at least OK like the other trips... the accomodation, the tension, and so on and so on. Still, I like the weather and the scenery... The weather was mild...unlike its common weather that was reknowned as the hottest place in Indonesia...considering it situated right below the equator line (?).


I miss home already right now... and off course I miss reading my MP friends' blog...cant wait to get home soon...I'll fly home this Saturday morning...and will write a lot about the trip.... :-)


Sunday, August 3, 2008

Seberkas Harapan yang Sirna

Kriiiiiinggggggg...nada telp pada Sabtu pagi. Mulanya dikira hanyalah telepon biasa dari saudara atau tetangga yang menanyakan soal arisan. Namun, sewaktu suamiku bilang dari 'Rita', seketika ingatan melayang pada kejadian di KRL Ekonomi Depok-Kota seminggu lalu. Aku sudah berharap besar bahwa dia akan memberitakan usaha barunya yang dibuka. Tapi harapan berubah menjadi kesedihan.

RT: "Teteh, ini Rita."

YH : "Oh, iya Mbak Rita, gimana usahanya? dah jualan sayur sekarang?"

RT: " Teh Yuni, bisa nggak ketemu Rita di Stasiun Bogor? Ada yang pengin Rita omongin."

(dalam hati mulai ada perasaan gak enak, kok ya bisa-bisanya maksaiin langsung ketemuan di stasiun di hari Sabrtu gini)

YH: "Yach, gak bisa Mbak. Ada kondangan hari ini. Emang ada apaan?"

RT: "Gini Teh, Rita pengin bicara langsung biar ngobrolnya enak. Kalau bicara di telpon takut ntar habis banyak. Atau Rita ke rumah teteh aja yach?"

(aduh, makin gak enak ini hati...masih maksa lagi)

YH: "telpon lokal gak habis banyak Mbak."

RT: "Rumah teteh di Bekasi mana, biar Rita ke sana aja."

YH: "Bekasi Utara. Maaf Mbak hari ini sibuk banget, banyak acara. Mending lewat telepon aja." (mulai dengan nada yang agak kesal, tapi dikit )

RT: "Gini teh, kemarin kan teteh kasih uang buat modal jualan sayur yach. Itu dia teh, uang itu hilang ma dompet yang teteh kasih. Ketinggalan di kereta...untung aja alamat yang teteh kasih waktu itu Rita simpan di B*** jadi gak ikutan hilang teh.

YH: "Yach, gimana sih Mbak.

(dalam hati kok yach bisa ya uang ditinggalin di KRL padahal waktu itu doi mengeluh tidak punya uang sama sekali. Lha, akunya yang bodoh atau sebaliknya yach, kok naruh uang sembarangan malah yang kertas alamat ditaruh di tempat aman??? mulai deh timbul curiga dan syak wasangka)

RT: "Iyah, teh. Makanya Rita tlp. bisa gak teteh bantu lagi."

(Waduh, kok bisa-bisanya baru telepon sekarang padahal kejadian dah seminggu lalu. Untungnya gak ketemu langsung, lebih 'easy' untuk cari 'excuse' kalau di telp.)

YH: "Maaf, Mbak. Yuni dah ndak ada uang lagi buat bantu. Belum gajian lagi."

Seusai percakapan, ada rasa sedih...bukan rasa sesal...seharusnya uang sejumlah itu bisa buat 'kulakan' sayuran. Pertama ketemu di KRL Ekonomi Kota-Bogor, seorang wanita muda dengan seorang anak kecil berusia sekitar lima tahun, duduk di sampingku. Tiba-tiba dia minta tolong agar dipinjamin uang lima ribu rupiah untuk naik angkot pulang ke rumahnya dari stasiun Bogor. Dia mengaku kehabisan ongkos setelah menemui kakak tirinya yang ada di Kota untuk minta pinjam uang...ternyata kakak tersebut sedang pulang ke kampung.

Akhirnya mulai percakapan kami. Dia bercerita bahwa sehari-hari mengemis dari pasar ke pasar dan sehari bisa dapat uang 20-30 ribu rupiah. Anaknya dua, suaminya telah menceraikannnya dan beristri lagi. Anak pertama ikut mertuanya sedangkan yang termuda ikut mengemis dengannya. Dari ceritanya, dia kelihatan jujur dan tidak mungkin berbohong. Sewaktu aku tanya apabila dia punya modal, apa yang akan dilakukan. Dia menjawab akan buka usaha warung kecil-kecilan di rumah...jualan sayur mayur...modal yang diperlukan sekitar sekian ratus ribu...katanya capek mengemis dan ingin berubah.

Akhirnya, kami berhenti di stasiun Depk Baru. Kubelikan keduanya makan di RM Padang sebab dia bilang belum makan dari pagi dan di rumah tidak ada beras ataupun sesuatu yang dapat dimakan. Kutinggalkan mereka di sana agar aku dapat mengambil sejumlah uang ke ATM. Dengan harapan dapat sedikit membantu mengubah nasib ibu muda tadi, aku berikan modal dan memintanya berjanji agar bisa dipergunakan sebaik-baiknya. Tak lupa aku tinggalkan alamat dan nomor telp agar dia bisa menghubungiku...dia pun meninggalkan alamantnya. Kami pun berpisah menuju jalan masing-masing.

Ada kebahagian saat melihat semburat harapan terlihat di wajahnya. Bayangan bahwa mungkin aku bisa membantu orang yang sedang membutuhkan mengubah nasib. Ada banyak harapan bahwa dia akan berhenti mengemis dan membuka warung mungilnya. Ada harapan bahwa suatu saat kelak aku akan mengunjunginya.

Entahlah...suamiku pernah bilang bahwa kelemahan terbesarku (di samping gampang marah dan kesal) adalah terlalu mudah iba pada orang lain. Suatu hal yang menjadi kekuatirannya apabila aku pergi sendirian. Namun, entah mengapa aku tidak merasa bahwa mudah iba dan jatuh kasian adalah sesuatu hal yang buruk. Sebab ada banyak hal indah yang kita dapatkan seusai melakukan kebaikan.

Aku berharap meskipun harapan itu cuma kecil, bahwa dia tidak bermaksud membohongiku (cerita soal uang hilang itu masih meragukanku). Suatu saat nanti apabila bertemu dia lagi, aku berharap sebersit harapan yang dulu terlihat di wajahnya telah berkembang dan bersemi.

THE MUMMY : TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPIRE

First, I expected The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Empire would be as good as its two first series...at least as their equal. I had watched its thriller, and it looked great with the additional of Asian movie stars, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.

But after seeing the movie myself, I felt dissappointed.It left out the suspense and the thriller details. There's no breathtaking puzzles or mysteries in discovering the tomb of the emperor. I also preffered the decaying half-dead look of the mummy (imhotep) in its two previous films...and not like a dead mummy fully-there look of Jet Li. Everything was 'easy' and lacked of chemistry. The character of Ivy was also changed tremendously. But the acting of Jet Li as the bad guy was qute good compared to the rest of the casts.

This time, Alex O'Conell discovered a two thousands burried old mummy of the Emperor Han of the Qin dynasty. Under a point of gun, Ivy casted the spell that awakened the evil emperor, who instantly wanted to regain control of his terracota army.

The chase begun between the two sides up to Himalayan Mountain where three Yetis gave a help of the O'Connel group...and bla...bla...bla...until the resurrected emperor was sent back to the underworld.I still wandered what was the significance of the 'paradise' in the middle of nowhere in the movie.

The only fascinating moment for me was when Jet Li (the emperor) transformed himself into three headed dragon and flew away... he could change shape in any form he wanted.

Yet, I like the idea of the shangrilla in which lies the water of immortality...the elixir of life that denies death...a mystery that any emperor chase to live immortal...an irony ...