There are people who may hear this song but still do not know that the melody was originally Charlie Chaplin’s. You will know it if you watch Modern Times.

Smile was the theme music for Chaplin’s last silent picture Modern Times in 1936. It became official when John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added lyrics to Chaplin’s composition in 1954. Nat King Cole recorded the song and it became a hit! It reached the #10 position on the Billboard Charts in 1954.

Over the years, it became a standard which many artists have recorded including Tony Bennett, Barbara Streisand, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Michael Bublé, Elvis Costello, and Michael Bolton. Latest to record Smile is Robert Downey Jr. on his The Futurist CD. Downey played Charlie in the movie Chaplin.

This tune was one of Michael’s favourite songs, and he recorded a version of it on his 1995 album HIStory. It’s a lovely song… There’s a sense of melancholy but also optimism, and to hear Michael sang it over Chaplin’s movie as appears  here, gives me that powerful feeling that there’s always hope and that there’s something in all of us that can always overcome tribulations.

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by…

If you smile
With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by…

If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile…

That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile…

taken on July 6, 2009

Rest in peace, Michael…
Never met you,
never knew you in person,
but you certainly put smiles on my face because of your songs.

Note: this post also appears on my Facebook’s Notes.

We have been reading, listening, and experiencing either directly or indirectly the global and local impact of the recent financial crisis.

However, while trillions of dollars are being lost, moved around, hidden, and re-invested, there is also a human side to this financial crisis.

One of the national newspapers stated that a 45-year-old VP from a major US corporation lost over 75% of his lifetime investments and savings. He had to give up his membership at the local country club and sell his yacht. His condos in Mexico, the Barbados, and Switzerland were repossessed. He, his wife, and his three college-enrolled children had to move from their mansion into a more modest 4-bedroom home without “servant’s quarters.” They had to give up their 25% ownership in a private plane they used for business and pleasure. I could carry on and on about the financial setbacks experienced by this family, but the real tragedy is yet to come.

While the VP’s salary and annual bonuses were slashed, he did not lose his job; he still had a house to return at night; his family was still able to live comfortably, albeit more modestly. Millions of people around the world have lost everything as a result of this global financial crisis and are far worse off than the VP in this story.

One week after the VP and his family moved into their modest home, the 45-year-old father of three children, married for 20 years to a very supportive wife, was found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot to the head while his family was out shopping.

A suicide note left by the distraught man explained that his financial loss made him feel like a “loser” whose self-identity, self-respect and self-image had been destroyed by his poor financial investments. What can we learn from this tragedy and the decisions made by other people also faced with similar if not worse personal crises?

Obviously, there are millions of people around the globe who have not committed suicide or resorted to other drastic self-destructive behaviours. What leads one person in a crisis to commit suicide and another to persevere and move on with life? In the health business it’s called RESILIENCE. What is resilience? What are the characteristics of resilient people? Over the past 40 years, as a teacher, therapist, researcher, and health planning consultant Dr. Joseph Levy has studied the characteristics of resilient people in order to help other develop resilient values, beliefs, and skills. You can learn to be more resilient, but many people need professional help.

What is Resilience?

The way we experience human life – bad or good – is fundamentally shaped by what happens in the inner sanctum or “core beliefs” (core muscles!). When events become overwhelming, when you want to throw in the towel, when adrenalin surges and you want to destroy the opponent or yourself, when things that should go right go wrong, when life keeps handing you lemons and losers, RESILIENCE emerges.

For many people through the centuries, the capacity to find the wherewithal, determination, and reason to cope despite the odds and more often than not, to find ways to see the light at the end of the tunnel, is something that has now been clinically and scientifically validated. For these resilient people, as the song from Annie goes, “The sun will come out tomorrow!”

Here is a short list of the qualities of the attitudes of resilient people:

1. Raison d’etre (Reason for living)

Resilient people have developed over the years a “purpose for living.” As they say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” This purpose can be to care for your family, make the world a safer place, or keep your community clean and safe. This purpose has to be of a “higher order” other than to make yourself happy. This purpose has to be “outer” directed and aimed at serving a larger good in life. Religious people who have a sense of purpose tied to a higher cause in life have the lowest suicide rates across all income, cultural, and social classes.

2. Positive and Negative Mental Attitude

Resilient people are “approach oriented.” Life, including crises and problems are seen as opportunities. When life hands you lemons, learn to make lemon smoothies. Resilient people have a very wide comfort zone for interpreting life as a problem. Less resilient people quickly find problems in life, whereas more resilient people have a way of not seeing crises as overwhelming problems.

3. Incremental Success

Resilient people don’t use a highway truck scale to weigh a baby. They recognize and build from small successes while learning from setbacks. Instant success does not give you the good foundation to build on your resilience.

4. New Goal Setting After Failure

“If at first you don’t succeed, redefine success.” Resilient people believe that, “failure teaches you how not to do things.” Resilient people accept that they cannot always change the world but that they can always change themselves and that will be the beginning of change in the world.

5. Faith – The Gaia Principle

The natural order of the world is made up of love, peace, harmony, structure, predictability, and certainty. When we affirm our personal worth through these naturally occurring phenomena, then we can confirm our universal existence. Highly resilient people have always felt a sense of connection to the world. Their self-worth, self-identity, and meaning in life can never be taken from them since they are connected to the higher powers in the universe. The same powers that make the sun rise and set and also give us birth, death, and the seasons.

As long as you can feel connected to Mother Earth and all the other mysteries of life, you will never feel disconnected and lonely, no matter how much money you have lost on the stock market or in real estate.

Dr. Victor E. Frankl, the concentration camp survivor who wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning, stated his resilient philosophy that kept him alive. The criminals running the camps could physically torture him, but they could never take away his human dignity, self-respect, and hope for the future. Frankl poignantly wrote, “We who lived in concentration camps can remember that men and women who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man or a woman, but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way… Fundamentally, therefore, any man, even under such circumstances, decides what shall become of him – mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp.”

It is never too early or too late to become a more resilient person. I witness that the older people get, the more they rely on their resilience to get them through the crises of life. And at the end of each crisis, they move to a higher plateau of coping, resilience, and mental health. We all need to see a crisis as an “opportunity” to make ourselves better and to improve the world.

On his death bed a father gave his last message to his wife for his two sons:

• First: don’t ever press for payment of someone’s debt to you
• Second: don’t let the sunray shines upon your face when you go to work

The time has passed by… Couple years after their father died, the eldest has gotten richer but the youngest has gotten poorer.

One day the mother asked about this to the sons.

The poor youngest son said:

”It happened because I did what father asked me to do. Father ordered me not to collect the debt from those that owed me money. It reduced my capital because the people who owed me money didn’t pay their debt to me and I can’t press them for payments.”

“He also ordered me not to let the sun shines upon me every time I go to or return from work to my house. So, I have to take becak or andong whereas in fact I can walk. Then just because I want to follow my father’s last message my expense for this has eaten my saving too.“

The mother also asked the eldest the same question.

The rich eldest son said:

”It all happened because I have followed my father’s last message. Father ordered me not to collect the debt from those that owed my money, so I never lend my money, and it doesn’t reduce my capital.”

”My father also ordered me not to let the sunray shines upon me whenever I go to or return from work. Everyday I go to my shop before the sun rises and go home after the sun sets. So, my shop becomes the only shop that opens before all other shops in the neighborhood open and closes after all other shops in the neighborhood have closed.”

”Due to this routine, people know that my shop operates longer than any shops in the neighborhood and it makes my shop very popular and boost my sales.”

The moral of the story:

An order or command can be perceived differently. If we have positive attitude we tend to look through things positively, open-mindedly – we can see that any obstacles are actually a path that leads to our success. Yet,.. we can wander aimlessly if we just follow order or command without using our own reasonable judgment – things that may lead to failure. The choice is yours.

Try to do ordinary things extraordinary well.

Sebuah contoh kasus: Jaringan toko obat Walgreens. Di tengah resesi, perusahaan tersebut berfokus pada pengembangan bisnis obat generik. Pendapatan dan penjualan dalam kuartal ke-4 di tahun 2001 meningkat sebanyak 10,7% jika dibandingan dengan kinerja di kuartal yang sama pada tahun sebelumnya. Walgreens tidak hanya merebut pangsa pasar dari kompetitornya, namun mereka juga berhasil membuka lebih dari 400 gerai baru.

Sebuah studi yang dilakukan oleh Bain & Company mendapati bahwa jumlah perusahaan yang berkembang dari posisi belakang hingga berada dalam posisi memimpin adalah dua kali lebih banyak di masa resesi ketimbang pada situasi ekonomi yang tenang. Hasil dari studi ini, yang menganalisa lebih dari 700 perusahaan dalam periode enam tahun, memberikan wawasan mengenai bagaimana perusahaan dapat mengambil manfaat dari kemunduran yang terjadi. Pertama-tama, mari kita lihat dampak strategis dari sebuah resesi.

Resesi ‘Menggoncangkan’ Lebih Dari Bom Waktu

Studi yang dilakukan Bain mendapati lebih dari sepertiga perusahaan yang tadinya berada dalam posisi terbawah melompat ke posisi-posisi teratas. Sementara itu, lebih dari seperlima dari keseluruhan leading organizations – mereka yang menduduki posisi atas ditinjau dari segi finansial dalm industri tersebut – merosot ke peringkat terbawah. Hanya ada setengah dari sekian banyak perusahaan yang mengalami peningkatan atau penurunan dramatis seperti itu pada masa-masa sebelum atau setelah resesi.

Arrow Electronics yang berpusat di Melville, New York, memberikan contoh langkah menyolok yang mereka ambil dalam masa-masa yang berat. Selama masa resesi pada akhir tahun 1980-an, distributor komponen elektronik dan produk-produk komputer yang mengalami masalah finansial tersebut meluncurkan sejumlah langkah cerdik dan berani yang memungkinkan mereka meningkatkan penjualan hingga lebih dari 500%, yang membuat mereka melampaui pemimpin pasar di industri tersebut, Avnet, yang berpusat di Phoenix, Arizona, yang dulunya merupakan perusahaan yang dua kali lebih besar ketimbang Arrow.

Peningkatan atau Penurunan yang Diperoleh Selama Masa Resesi Cenderung Bertahan

Dari sekian banyak firma yang menghasilkan revenue atau laba besar sepanjang resesi di tahun 1990 hingga 1991, lebih dari 70% perusahaan tersebut tetap mendapat laba yang tinggi di masa-masa selanjutnya. Di sisi lain, hanya ada kurang dari 30% perusahaan yang mengalami kemunduran di masa tersebut yang berhasil mengembalikan posisinya ke level semula.

Penemuan ini menunjukkan bahwa resesi bukanlah ”pelambat” semata karena mereka merupakan salah satu kesempatan untuk menempa kinerja perusahaan. Saat-saat yang berat akan membuka kekuatan dan kelemahan kita, dan sejumlah kesempatan strategis untuk melakukan kesepakatan atau untuk mengambil keuntungan dari para pemain yang lebih lemah atau lebih lambat dalam melakukan peningkatan di masa-masa resesi tersebut.

Ketahuilah Titik Awal Anda

Kesalahan terbesar pada masa resesi terakhir dilakukan oleh beberapa perusahaan yang tidak memahami titik awal mereka dan melakukan investasi yang tidak seharusnya mereka lakukan. Contohnya: Borden Milk Products (Dallas), yang melakukan diversifikasi dari industri utama mereka di bidang produk-produk susu sehingga mengakibatkan mereka tidak lagi menguasai pasaran tersebut.

Perusahaan-perusahaan yang berhasil akan melakukan beberapa diagnosa internal maupun eksternal dengan hati-hati saat kemerosotan mulai menghadang. Mereka melakukan identifikasi kekuatan kunci dan kelemahan mereka, sekaligus mengembangkan definisi dasar akan strategi dan bisnis utama mereka. Hal ini akan memberikan ukuran yang dapat diandalkan untuk menciptakan berbagai pilihan strategi baru di masa mendatang.

Jagalah Disiplin Strategis

Apabila data mengatakan bahwa bisnis dasar Anda masih lemah, jangan mencoba berinvestasi selama kemunduran hingga Anda berhasil menyelesaikan masalah tersebut. Selama masa resesi terakhir, Mattel tetap memegang sebuah gambar yang jelas mengenai apa yang dibutuhkan oleh bisnis mereka. Dari situlah Mattel dapat mengurangi kapasitas, biaya dan memfokus-ulangkan sumber daya manajemen dan produksi ke dalam dua brand utama mereka: Barbie dan Hot Wheels. Merekapun ”menguji” kerjasama strategis yang mereka lakukan dengan Disney.

Dengan memperhatikan bisnis inti mereka, Mattel tetap berkembang sekalipun banyak pergolakan yang terjadi. Faktanya, penjualan mereka meningkat hingga mereka melipat-gandakan ”digit” penjualan yang dilakukan selama masa keberhasilan setelah resesi tersebut.

Segera Perbaiki Apa yang Salah

Perusahaan-perusahaan yang mengalami penurunan pendapatan selama masa resesi tahun 1990 hingga 1991 menunjukkan respons yang umum: reaksi yang berlebihan, yang diikuti dengan ”jalan di tempat” bahkan ketika tantangan yang lebih hebat menghadang.

Apa yang dapat kita pelajari disini? Jika strategi Anda tidak menunjukkan hasil, Anda harus meninjau kembali strategi tersebut. Jangan berharap strategi tersebut akan menghasilkan dividen hanya karena ekonomi kembali pulih.

Oleh: Sarabjit Singh Baveja, Steve Ellis, Darrell K. Rigby (Harvard Business School Publishing, 2008)

Rights & Democracy also celebrated its 20^th anniversary on December 10^th by awarding its annual John Humphrey Freedom Award in honour of the Canadian jurist who wrote the first draft of the Declaration. This year, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights were honoured for their courageous efforts to bring about justice and democracy in their troubled land.

I invite you to visit the 20^th anniversary brochure which presents our successes and continuing efforts in countries such as Zimbabwe and over 30 others around the world, including a number of special initiatives we have led since our establishment in 1988.

Our struggle for democracy and human rights will continue as Rights & Democracy embarks on a new chapter in its history of promoting the universal values of human rights and democracy on behalf of Canadians.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our dedicated employees and Board members in Canada and overseas, our partners in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia, as well as all our supporters and collaborators at home.

Best wishes to all for the holiday season, and we look forward to continuing our work together in 2009 and beyond.

Rémy M. Beauregard

The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid more than he does (Napoleon Hill)

Petani bijak sangat mengerti arti pentingnya sebuah proses pembibitan. Jika ia tidak menabur benih, ia tentu tidak mengharapkan adanya hasil panen. Petani bijak sangat mengerti nilai dari benih-benih padi unggul yang ditanamnya. Jika benih dari padi unggul yang ditanam, yang tumbuh adalah padi yang unggul juga. Demikian halnya, jika Anda menanam jagung. Anda dipastikan akan mendapat jagung dan bukan semangka.

Hal ini juga berlaku dalam setiap kehidupan kita. Pepatah tua yang tidak lekang dimakan waktu mengingatkan kita bahwa, ”Apa yang Anda tanam, itulah yang akan Anda tuai.” Jika Anda menanam semangat yang tinggi dan usaha keras untuk berprestasi, niscaya hasilnya akan terlihat dengan jelas. Namun sayang, banyak orang yang tidak sabar melihat hasil akhirnya. Kebanyakan orang langsung mengharapkan hasil yang fantastis akan benih yang ia tanam (instant gratification).

Banyak orang yang lebih menggemari kata work smart dibandingkan work hard. Hal ini tidaklah menjadi masalah jika mereka mengetahui apa arti dari work smart yang tidak lain berarti melakukan hal-hal dasar (fundamental) dengan lebih baik dan lebih sering lagi dibandingkan orang lain. Work smart mempunyai arti melakukan work hard dengan lebih efektif dan efisien. Pepatah lain yang dicetuskan oleh Elbert Hubbard, ”People who never do any more than they’re paid to do, are never paid any more than they do.”

Dalam laporan Associated Press tertanggal 7 Juni 2007, Eric Schmidt, CEO Google, adalah salah satu CEO yang menerima gaji terendah dibandingkan CEO papan atas lainnya. Ia malahan yang mengusulkan kepada pemilik perusahaan untuk menggajinya sebesar USD 1 per tahun selama tiga tahun berturut-turut. Tentu ide ini bukanlah ide bodoh karena Schmidt ingin agar perusahaan menyadari bahwa semangat kerjanya tidaklah bergantung pada gaji yang besar tetapi pada hasil yang ia mampu berikan kepada perusahaan. Kompensasi total yang diterimanya per tahun selain dari gaji hanyalah sebesar USD 557.466, jumlah yang sangatlah kecil dibandingkan dengan CEO perusahaan pesaingnya Yahoo Inc., Terry Semel yang mendapat tunjangan sebesar USD 71.7 juta per tahun. Kompensasi yang ditawarkan berupa opsi stok jauh lebih diinginkannya. Tidaklah heran saat itu Schmidt mendapatkan 10.7 juta lembar saham yang nilainya waktu itu mencapai nilai sebesar USD 5.5 miliar.

Kebanyakan orang merasa dibayar lebih sedikit daripada yang semestinya ia terima. Percaya atau tidak, banyak orang yang hanya bekerja minimal untuk diakui bekerja dalam pekerjaannya; tetapi sebagai seorang juara lakukanlah lebih daripada apa yang Anda terima. Belajarlah dari Eric Schmidt maka Anda akan kaget mendapati hasilnya, ketika Anda dibayar lebih daripada apa yang Anda kerjakan. Itulah cara berpikir seorang Champion.

Oleh: Darmadi Darmawangsa

It’s around 3PM and the place was still packed with young people, mostly.

I was queuing in line and thinking about what I want… Another black coffee? Freezed or iced? Finally, I opted for iced cappuccino. Then, I looked for a place to sit then put all my shopping bags on the table in front of an empty soft chair. I picked up my order when they called my name.

This is the ritual I always love to do by myself: enjoying and grasping the vibes of my surrounding. I may bring a book and read it while I drink the beverage of my choice but the most interesting part of the ritual is actually observing the people around me, they way they talk, their body language, the way they communicate, things they talk or discuss, the clothes and all the accessories they wear… and my mind will wander wildly around so many things. I don’t think I can even capture the things that were swirling in my mind whenever I am in this floating state.

I looked over to the left. A young boy sat there with his laptop. I guessed he’s not more than 20 years of age. On my right was a group of young people, 3 guys and 2 girls, with all their laptops and were working and discussing something. Probably they’re on the third to fifth semester of university. I scanned the room around – lots of young people, young couples, or families with children under 10 years of age.

I started to read my book. I didn’t even reach the fifth page yet when a lady entered my 20/20 sight. Then, I heard the young boy on my left complained, high pitch and loud enough to make me taking my eyes off the book. I guessed the lady was his mother. She sat there, just looked at her son patiently when this teenage son blurted out some not-so-nice words. I pitied her – kalo gue jadi emaknya, udah gue piting nih anak. I pitied this teenage boy – inget-inget, lo bisa sekolah, makan cukup, baju cukup, punya laptop, ngafé-ngafé, karena nyokap dan bokap lo kan?

His mom then said she would order some drinks and asked whether he wanted to have more drinks, to which he said that he had no time (with that peevish look on his face). Taelah… gak punya waktu ya bo, kayak elo sibuknya udah kayak bisnismen yang kudu ngurusin sepuluh perusahaan.

Couple minutes later, the lady returned with some drinks. She gave a glass to her son. He didn’t even look at his mother and say ‘thank you’ but made that ‘I’m-busy-don’t-bother-me’ signal. The lady said that she’d go to look for things and left him alone. Oh, my goodness! Ini anak kudu dididik nih. But, I restrained myself from giving him lecture on Lesson 101 to behave well to your parents. His peevish look really turned me off. I better return to my book.

The level of enthusiasm in the group of young people on my right had increased at least a notch – I guessed they’re discussing pricing elasticity. It’s so nice to absorb their spirit. I bet they’re smart in school. I was not second-guessing their aptitude but doubt whether they possess the other half of competency to charter the real world.

I heard so many stories from my clients about the young people especially those that have just entered the working place or those on fast-track to be managers:

• They have very high GPA, their transcript said so, but they can’t do a thing right. They couldn’t even answer the simple questions in the interview. What did they learn in school? Did they buy their diploma?
• They think they’re the maestro of everything and they have thin ears – a dangerous combination in a real world. Ditegur dikit, ngambek, trus kerja ogah-ogahan atau resign.
• They are smart enough to be on our fast-track career path. They’re professionally savvy but to prepare them to be good manager/leader we need to put them in a program to compensate for their immaturity.

Suddenly I felt a nudge on my left arm… a little girl stood there asking whether she could take the ottoman chair in front of me. Sure, dear. She said ‘thank you’ and moved the chair across to the other side of my table. I heard her mother asked her, “Did you say thank you to that lady?” She looked at me, at her mother, then smiled and said ‘yes, I did’.

Imagine if these generations enter the working place in some five to fifteen years from now… They will surely make a different dynamic in the working place but are we prepared when the time comes?

Credibility is a leader’s coin of the realm. With it, he or she can lead people to the Promised Land; without it, they wander in the desert of lost expectations. Once lost it may be impossible to regain, and so the lesson to any manager who as any aspiration of achieving anything is to guard your credibility and take care you never lose it. Here’s how.

Character matters. With apologies to dramatists, character for a leader is action. Leaders are judged by what they do, not what they are. Little good can come from being good; you must do good things. You must be stalwart in the face of crisis. Be the rock for your team to stand upon when times are tough. And be in the shadow when success arrives. Character does matter.

Acknowledge shortcomings. Look for ways to negate your weaknesses. Surround yourself with people who complement you in skills but also in personality. For example, if you are the visionary type, get some practical types to carry forth your ideas. Likewise, if you are someone who is quick on the trigger, temper-wise, make certain you have calm and collected types beside you.

Live your values. Putting values statements on the wall may look good, but take time to read them. Better yet, act on them. Living values is easy when the going is good. The challenge arises when times are tough. As we have seen recently, integrity in some financial institutions was swept away by greed. When tough decisions need to be made, consider your values. Doing what is right may cause hardship; there can be no shame in sacrifice. Better to give up what is expedient in favor of what is sustainable.

Even the best intentioned of us make mistakes. Sometimes we do it purposefully, too. It is part of our humanity. Therefore when we do harm to another, or our organization, we must quickly accept responsibility. So when you make a mistake, admit it and seek to make amends immediately. Do not wait till things blow over; they will not calm down until you act. Doing so requires guts but, as our mothers warned us, it will do us good. Better yet, it will be good for your team.

“Character,” wrote Abraham Lincoln, “is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Character is the root of credibility. Chop off the roots and your “tree” falls. So mind your step and be ever vigilant. Credibility is essential to your leadership quotient.

She moved to her new house on the 27^th and I just wanted to catch up with her – did somebody help her and John? Were the kids OK? Could she handle them by herself while she had to monitor the moving? I don’t know why I still have this feeling as an older sister to take care of her.

I know I’ll be helping her if I’m there during the moving. I heard Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for A Winter’s Night playing on my computer… and suddenly my eyes got blurred by my tears. *sigh*

Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for A Winter’s Night

The lamp is burning low upon my table top
The snow is softly falling
The air is still in the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you

The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon each page
The words of love you sent me
If I could know within my heart, that you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you

The fire is dying now, my lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are lifting
The morning light steals across my windowpane
Where webs of snow are drifting
If I could only have you near, to breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
And to be once again with you
On this winter night with you

Click here to listen this song, sung by Simon Taylor.

I can’t help to recall the time when both of us worked together to renovate our condo and move our things to this condo during the cold and snowing December of 2001 in Toronto…

The condo on the 20^th floor of 18 Hillcrest Avenue was my ultimate choice – I fell in love with this condo right after I went inside and looked outside its windows in the living room and the master bedroom. Being a clean freak my sis said she liked the one on Princess Avenue better – just because it looked cleaner than this one and was already empty. I talked over this thing to her when we reached our rented apartment. “Hey, imagine how lovely the condo will look like after we change the carpet with the hardwood floor, after we paint the walls with different colors, after we decorate the inside. Most of all look at the view outside this corner condo. We’re still in the city but we have the peaceful view of residential area with their garden, trees, and parks. And look at the design of this condo – more interesting than the one on Princess Avenue.” He, he,… I need her to buy in the idea of this condo as a home sweet home and excellent investment.

Right after we signed the agreement we looked around for painters, the right hardwood color, the hardwood contractor, and the contractor for marble cleaning.

First, we needed to get rid of the carpet. Lesson learned: it’s a man’s work. I and my sister laughed out loud when we did it – ayo, siape yang mo hire pekerja harian bongkar karpet bergelar Master. *smile* She said that her knees suddenly went wobbly just because she saw me pulled, cut, tied the carpets and carried them to the garbage dumpster in the basement. Yeah, sis, I didn’t know where my power came from but I just believe that we could do it ourselves. (Pikir-pikir lagi, kok bisa kuat ya waktu itu?) It’s already dark before five in the afternoon when we called the day off. Then with all our sore muscles and tired body I drove the car to Pacific Mall for dinner – we’re usually looking for Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup and wrap up the ritual with the bitter a-thousand-herb tea. (The a-thousand-herb tea helped us to relax, to sleep well, and to wake up fresh the next day. Teh ajaib emang! *smile*) Usually, my sister already fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Second, we needed to choose the color of the rooms and had them painted. (Brian, thank you for your lovely color selection – so, we had very interesting color themes from blue, yellow, green, pink, and crème.) Lesson learned: have your place painted before you installed the hardwood floor.

Third, we had the marble in the hallway, the rest rooms, and the kitchen got cleaned by four cheerful guys. They worked very fast and professionally – amused us with their friendly jokes and told us the secret of taking care of marble. The boss later gave us discount just because we treated his workers nicely (bought them coffee and donuts). Lesson learned: nice treatment does reciprocate.

Fourth, we had the hardwood contractor installed the natural-color red oak engineered hardwood. Lesson learned: it costs more to install hardwood in the apartment than in the house.

Fifth, we needed to install the mould throughout the edge of the hardwood – so it would be nicely covered. We contacted one of the four guys from the marble cleaning contractor that offered us help during the renovation. He also helped us re-install the closet’s sliding door (because we couldn’t figure out how to put them back after we installed the hardwood). Marco is a real nice guy. Lesson learned: sometimes a stranger is your savior.

Sixth, clean up everything before we moved our things into the condo.

Seventh, packed up our things and hired the moving company, set up the moving date (and communicated it to the moving company as well as the old and new place), scheduled the use of the moving elevator (both in the old and new place), made sure the moving guys didn’t make a mess during the moving or, else we’re responsible to clean up the mess.

Eight, unpacked and arranged our things back to normal.

Home Depot and Ikea were our regular places to visit and we educated ourselves about the to-do-it yourself renovation and installation. She said, “If we’re in Indonesia we can just hire people to do it.” Yeah, of course lah. *smile*

I cherished those moments. Precious and priceless!

So, I could imagine the challenge to move into a new place during the winter. Thress, moga2 semuanya OK dan berjalan lancar ya. Give my hugs and kisses to my two adorable “unyils”. Thea and Marcia, be good. *smile*

My family asked whether I’m OK because they heard and watched about earthquake in Sulawesi on TV. I told them that I’m OK and will be back as scheduled.

Reality struck back when I went out of the airport and drove home. The polluted air, the chaotic and congested traffic, the busy streets… Oh, I already missed the clear blue sky, the green lush islands, the deep blue sea, the clean breeze of Banda Islands.

While I was still taking care of things from the trip on Friday morning, I got messages that I need to submit some financial figures this coming Monday and do presentation next Tuesday morning. Yeah, welcome to the real world! *smile* I texted my team to prepare what needs to be prepared for the presentation.

Next, I went to the salon to have my hair done and my nails maintained. (I did the facial right after the airport yesterday, hehehe…) I called Wenda just to confirm that we’re going to meet for lunch.

I wore my ‘holiday’ attire before I headed out my house. I felt really good. *smile* Midway to Plaza Senayan, Wenda called… there’s a change of plan. She had to cancel her lunch with me because she needed to meet an agency during lunch time. Well, OK lah. Right after I hung up this call, I got Olive’s call. She asked whether we could have lunch together. Sure, girl!

So, I had a lunch company. Wasn’t it great? We ate at Din Tai Fung – ordered dumplings, angsio beef soup, wonton soup, chili fried chicken, tofu & mushroom (kau fu). I told her about my trip to Moluccas and showed her the pictures. Biasa, jadi kompor, hehehe… She thought I ended up not going for this trip because no friends could go with me. Lupa ye, Lip, kan gue bilang ada yang ikut apa nggak gue tetep pergi. Lagian apa ni kulit keliatan kurang item? We talked about many things and how I felt about this trip, the islands and its people. We resumed close to 2PM because she had to go back to work.

I looked for books and magazines at Periplus while I waited for Wenda.

I was already too full, so I just accompanied her when she had her lunch. Soon after we moved to Bakerszin because she needed her cake and I longed for black coffee. I had the juice, black coffee, and some bites off her cake. *smile* I told her about my trip again but couldn’t show all my pictures because there’s not enough power left in the camera.

I and Wenda had dessert at Bakerszin, Plaza Senayan, Jakarta

“The government owes a lot to its people”, I said. The people should not live like that after 63 years of independence.

We went to Metro after we finished the cake and drinks. Wenda wanted to buy something for Ale – as an exchange of a mother’s guilty feeling for working on the weekend.

It took me more than an hour to get home – beneran ye, udah di Jakarta lagi!

I had a nice dinner and chat with my father at home. I sent e-mail to my friends for our next gathering – mark December 4 for a gathering with the usual crowd: Wenda, Eltje, Christi, Olive, Pipiet, Eko, and Safriel.

I didn’t touch my laptop and didn’t respond to a number of e-mails yet – I’m still on holiday, aren’t I?