Friday, February 29, 2008

Hey ! Where is my post??

I didn't get it. Why my previous post 'Another end of the month' didn't come out on my blog. What's wrong anyway? Could it because I save as a draft yesterday and published it just now, or because my internet connection's trouble.
Let see, will this post get publish successfully?

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Another End of The Month

Mmmh... Another end of the month already. This means others target to goal, others things to be done, other positivity change have to be. My recent book, ‘Then We Came to the End’ still on it’s half left. Wonder when will I can make it to the end my self, I’ve got so little time to read it. After all I can tell that it’s a good book, nice story though I’ve got little confuse with it’s time set hahaha. Well, I’m gonna write a full review of it, soon as I’m finished.

Work situation...mmh.. got so unpatience waiting for the wage, but alhamdulillah it’s already on my bank account just now. But uh... God! There’s something wrong ... I didn’t get my absent wage. Aaarrgh...whatever...seems that I really have to seek another chance to get money from.

Family... alhamdulillah we’re quite well. Just having a problem with stamina and body fit. My mom got enough busy with teaching and other social activities she involved with. And my grandma really miss my big brother. Last week is the the week of my lil bro, he planned to get on stage with his band. The whole family was getting busy helping him preparing the songs and his clothes. My Dad got involved with another social program ( I forgot the name) after finished become election official. I hope my big bro fine out there I know how busy he was.

So...this is a new beginning. A new to do list. Gotta start with full spirit till the end. Semangaaaaaaaaaatt!!!

PS. Actually I wanted to post this on Feb 29th, but got some trouble with my internet connection hehehe

Monday, February 25, 2008

Write And Grow Rich by: Suzanne Harrison

Are there any writers out there who don’t want to make money from writing? Who don’t want to earn a living from their writing? Who don’t want to become rich from their writing?


Well, there probably are. And that’s fine. But this article isn’t for them. This article is for you. You who knows that you can’t wake up in the morning without the itch in your fingers, can’t get through the day without putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, you who can’t listen to a conversation on a train, a bus or at a coffee shop without thinking, “I’ve got to write that down and use it in my next story”, and you who sees many things in life as great story ideas.

Write and grow rich is for you.

Now, this is not entirely about getting financially rich from writing. But apply the following advice and you stand a great chance of making that happen. Riches do come in many forms, one of which is money. But the many other forms of riches life has to offer are also yours for the taking when you follow the lead of the greats of writing, storytelling and inspirational thinking.

So let’s have a look at the 7 essential elements that will help you to write and grow rich.

1. Desire

This is absolutely the most important step in achieving success in any endeavour, and ignoring it will mean almost certain failure. Putting it simply, you have to want it! Whatever your writing goal is – whether it’s to be a bestselling novelist, a successful screenwriter, to win a short story competition, to write for a national newspaper or magazine, or simply to finish something you’ve started, you must want it so much that the thought of it inspires a physical reaction in you, and the lack of it causes you both emotional and physical pain.

Does this sound extreme? Maybe. But you must have a deep, intense desire to make your writing dreams come true. So let’s put first things first – what is your magnificent obsession? What do you want more than anything else? Got it? Write it down and let’s move on.

2. Faith

It is imperative that you believe you can achieve your goal. It is also imperative that you believe in what you are writing, and why. JK Rowling said that it was her belief in the story of Harry Potter that kept her going through 5 years of planning the entire series and then the writing of the first novel. With absolutely no promise of publication and being well aware of how difficult it is for an unknown author to get published, she could easily have let economic and personal difficulties overwhelm her and quit writing. But it was an overriding sense that she had to do right by the book that kept her going.

So your second step is to examine your own commitment to what you are writing. Do you believe in the story you are telling? Does it mean anything to you personally, or to the world in general? And if you are writing non-fiction, do you believe in your topic, your point of view, and the value of what you are bringing to the world? Faith in yourself, and in your work is the one thing that has been known to work miracles.

3. Imagination

This may seem obvious, and yet it needs to be said. It is imagination that sets great writers and storytellers apart, just as it sets great artists, businessmen and movie-makers apart. Imagination falls into two categories – the creative and synthetic imaginations. And both are equally important to you as a writer.

Examples of the creative imagination are of course JK Rowling having Harry Potter stroll fully formed into her mind while she was travelling between Manchester and London by train, and then spending the next four hours creating Hogwarts and the major cast of characters in her mind. Then there’s anything Stephen King has ever written, from what happens when a dead pet resurrects itself, to what would you do if you were trapped in your car when your family dog turns rabid.

Great uses of the synthetic imagination (when the mind takes elements it already knows and recognises, and puts them together in new ways) are also abundant in fiction. How many variations on the classic boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, have you read or seen? Hundreds, probably. And what about James Cameron’s epic film, Titanic? We all knew the boat would sink, we’d all seen it countless times before, but we still flocked to the cinema, enchanted by Cameron’s incredibly believable characters, Rose and Jack, and their moving but short lived love story.

So if you’re a fiction writer, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to dream up something that has never ever been seen before. Simply look at what you like to read and write about, and put a new angle, or twist on it, and then go for it.

For non-fiction writers, it’s open slather here. Simply pick your topic, take a fresh look at it, create a new angle and get into it. Your expertise and opinion matter certainly, but use your imagination to create a new way for your readers to see your topic, and you will have a ready-made audience.

4. Specialised knowledge

Many fiction writers have woven their own interests and areas of expertise into their novels. CS Lewis created a world rich in Christian symbolism, to reflect his own beliefs. John Grisham is an ex-lawyer who writes compelling courtroom dramas. Patricia Cornwell is a former medical examiner, and Candace Bushnell wrote about her own newspaper column in Sex and The City.

These are all excellent examples of how you can turn your ‘real-life’ career into the basis of life as a novelist. Of course there are also countless examples of authors who carry out extensive research, moving from one topic to another as they build their catalogue. Either way, to create a believable world is, for the fiction writer, as important as building credibility in your field is to the non-fiction writer. The upshot is, that one way or the other, you need to acquire some specialised knowledge if you are to write in a way that captures your audience. Whether you parlay your own knowledge into your work, or acquire what you need through research, it’s important to remember, that we are first and foremost scribes, reporting stories to the people around us.

5. Organised Planning

I am a great believer in planning. For the fiction writer, having a story plan, whether for a short story, novel or screenplay, ensures you keep yourself on track, not winding off down dead ends and blind alleys. For the non-fiction writer, it’s a matter of doing your research, gathering your notes, and writing an outline before you set about the main task of writing your article or book.

But organised planning for the writer means much more than planning the story, book or article you are writing right now. It also means planning for your own success as a writer. Travelling back to the first point, desire, you had to write down what you wanted to achieve as a writer. Have a look at that now. How are you going to get there? What steps can you take, starting now, that will move you in the direction of your goal? Saying you want to see your screenplay nominated for an Academy Award is a fine aspiration, but if you don’t even have an idea yet for your story, how do you think you’re ever going to be treading the red carpet?

So putting together an organised, step-by-step plan to get you from where you are now, to where you want to be, and adding a timeframe for your goal’s achievement will be an important step to getting you where you want to go. A great way to do this is to work backwards from your goal, imagining what came immediately before the goal, and then before that, and then right before that, until you have the step that you need to take RIGHT NOW to move you forward. It may be something as simple as buying yourself a special notebook to jot down your ideas, but whatever it is, it is one important step toward you achieving your writing desire.

6. Persistence

It has been said that persistence outstrips all other virtues, and when it comes to achieving success as a writer, I truly believe that, other than being ready when your opportunity comes, persistence is the one quality that will absolutely guarantee your success. JK Rowling would never have been the phenomenon she became if she had never finished her first book, would she? And remember she wrote several adult novels that never saw the light of day, before Harry turned her life on its ear. Stephen King wrote several novels before he hit pay dirt with Carrie. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull was rejected more than 200 times before being published. Matthew Reilly began his career as a self-publisher and is now one of Australia’s most popular authors. His persistence, and self-belief paid off.

So whatever you are writing, stick with it. Persistence is the one thing, along with a thick skin, that you’ll need in abundance to crack it in the competitive world of publishing. And remember, the so-called “experts” don’t always know it all. The man who handed JK Rowling her first advance, a mere £2,500, advised her not to give up her day job as “no one makes any money out of writing children’s books”. 12 years and over $1 billion later, I think she’s proven him wrong. Who are you going to prove wrong?

7. The Sixth Sense

This may seem like an unusual thing to suggest, but I truly believe that those who achieve great success as writers have an intuitive sense about which stories are the ones that are worth pursuing and which ones are better off left behind.

I advocate that you should pursue the ideas that “scare you a little, and excite you a lot”. This is a simpler way of describing the ‘sixth sense’ idea and also may be easier for many of you to measure. As an example, JK Rowling said that when Harry appeared to her on that train journey, she had an actual physical response, unlike anything else she’d ever felt before with her writing. She felt quite light-headed when she got off the train, and likened the feeling to that delicious feeling at the start of a love affair.

Is this the sixth sense? The case could be argued either way. I am merely suggesting that the more in touch you are with your intuition, the more likely you are to be able to distinguish between the “Harry Potter” ideas and the “dead horses” that Bryce Courtney describes having experienced, when he just knew that an idea had run out of steam for him.

So those are the 7 steps to Writing and Growing Rich. Type them out, paste them up near where you write and refer to them often. And as you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, may you experience success unexpected in common hours.


I really like this article, one of my motivation to write. Hope you like it too.

Cornhole Is Becoming A Popular Sport


by: Dave Roth


Most people would not think of the cornhole game as an actual sport, but it is fast becoming a very popular one. It has evolved from a simple backyard game to something that has developed a strong following. Tournaments are organized in many areas of the country, and the individuals who play in them take their cornhole game seriously. They spend many hours practicing, and they are very careful to ensure that their bags and boards are all regulation. It helps them to be ready to compete when a tournament is organized in their area. In addition, there is a lot of enjoyment of the game, making the sport more popular than people would have originally expected.

Since the cornhole game is not difficult to learn to play and not physically demanding, almost any person of any age can play the game and therefore participate in the tournaments. There are tournaments for children and for adults, and men and women are often divided as well. In addition, some tournaments are organized for individuals to play, and others are organized for cornhole teams. No matter how the tournament is organized, though, there is something for everyone. The entry fees are usually very inexpensive, and the prizes are good. The tournaments can also be organized to help raise money for charities and other good causes, and some people have tournaments just because they are enjoyable and people like them.

There are areas of the country where cornhole is very popular and areas where it is not heard of nearly as often. Organizing a tournament in an area where the game is not generally played might take some doing, but there are people all over the country who do enjoy the game. It is simply a matter of finding people in one’s immediate area who enjoy the game, which can be done through advertising and asking questions of others in the community. For those who play cornhole quite often, it is already seen as a sport. Whether it will be seen that way by others, however, may still take some time. It has been suggested by some people who play cornhole as a sport that it might eventually end up on major sports networks and be televised like bowling and other activities which some people consider sports and some people do not.

If a person starts out playing cornhole at a young age, he or she may only see it as a game. Those who are a bit older often take it more seriously, because they have a better chance to network with others who also play the game, either for fun or more seriously. It is not yet possible to make a living playing cornhole as it is for some sports. However, people can win money and other prizes. Eventually, the sport may become popular enough that professional players will make their living off of the game. Until that time, however, cornhole will continue to be played in many areas of the country for both fun and profit.

Tips to Keeping a Clean Home With Kids

by: Dave Roth
When individuals have children, they know it can be difficult to keep their homes clean. Kids make messes. In addition, they generally know that mom and dad will take care of any problems that they have and clean up any messes that they might make. As they get older, they learn to take better care of their space and the rest of the house that they live in. Until they reach that point, however, it is generally the responsibility of the parents to find ways to keep a clean home with kids in it. There are some tips that can be used to help with a cleaner home.

One of the best ways to keep a home clean with kids is to impress upon them from the point that they are old enough to understand that they need to pick up after themselves. They should be taught to do this, and they should lose privileges if they do not do it. However, keep in mind that kids will be kids, and they will need to be reminded to pick up their toys, clothing, and other items. Eventually, it will become a habit, but it has to be repeated enough times to make it stick in the childs mind in order to be effective. Parents can run out of patience with this tactic, but it is well worth doing. Cleaning up and picking up after oneself becomes a lifelong habit if it is taught early enough.

In addition, parents that have small children find that they often do not have enough time to keep things clean. Parents that have the funds available might want to consider hiring someone to come in and help clean once a week or more. However, a lot of individuals do not have the money for this, or they are not comfortable with a stranger in their home. For these parents, one of the best ways to keep a clean home is to pick up as one goes through the day. If a person is walking from one room to another and sees something that goes in that second room, he or she should take that item along. This keeps things from building up, and can help a home stay cleaner and more organized, even when parents are very busy with jobs and kids.

Effects of Stress by: Loren Fogelman

What is stress

Stress is a part of daily life. Everyone has stress. Some people appear to have more stress than others. Stress is one way we react to specific events in our life. There are times when you might feel that too much is happening at once and feel overwhelmed. Other times, you feel the pressure of time or a deadline and realize you need to take care of something before it is too late. Having been in a similar situation before will create anxiety. How we perceive a situation will effect how we respond to it. There is good stress and bad stress.

Good stress can be a motivator. Knowing that you have an obligation to address and a timeframe. That type of stressor puts you into action in order to meet a deadline. Or you might be in an unexpected situation where you need to make a split second response in order to avoid danger. This could be slamming your foot on the brake to avoid an accident. Anticipation of a competition or performance will cause tension and nervousness prior to the event. This nervousness is due to an increased flow of adrenaline going through your body. Your body is preparing for the “fight or flight” syndrome. The release of adrenaline prepares your body to take the steps to deal with the situation, including improved focus, strength, stamina and heightened alertness.

People also have bad stress in their lives. Whether we perceive a situation as being stressful or not depends on previous experiences. One person might see being in a multi tasking job as very stressful, feeling overwhelmed and becoming anxious about their work. Another person might find multi tasking enjoyable because they continue to stay busy and time goes by faster. Your body is capable of dealing with stress for short periods of time. When the stress is ongoing i.e. dealing with a divorce or bankruptcy, this can wear a person down. Long term stress contributes to feeling tired, overwhelmed and contributes to lowered immunity.

The body’s reactions to stress

Once you view something as being stressful, whether positive or negative, your body reacts to that perception. The response is a survival technique and a defense mechanism. The reaction is referred to as the “fight or flight” response. Either you are going to fight the attacker or you will choose to flee from the threat. This includes increased heart rate and blood pressure, perspiration, hearing and vision become more acute and hands and feet might become colder since blood is being directed to larger muscles in preparation for a fight or to flee. Your body is being prepped to handle the situation. When the threat is over, your body will return to normal.

If your body has difficulty returning to normal, then you would experience stress overload. This is when you stress out too much or have ongoing stress in your life and never get a chance to relax. Pressure in your life might be too intense or go on for too long without a break. People that have experienced trauma are likely to have stress overload. If trauma is not resolved then you might become hypervigilant, a sense of being overly aware of possible danger. You might always be “on guard.” Stress overload has an emotional and physical effect on the body. This could include panic attacks, depression, sleep problems, physical pain i.e. headaches and allergies as well as abuse of alcohol or other drugs. Having unresolved trauma will effect your perception. Situations that might not have caused tension prior to the trauma can have the ability to create anxiety after the trauma. Becoming aware of how your perception has changed and seeking support to address the trauma issue can be helpful to reduce ongoing stressors and to reduce anxiety. Seeking counseling that focuses on cognitive perceptions will help to decrease hypervigilance and will help to reduce the likelihood of continuing to be retraumatized. In addition, your body has memory of the event as well. Being able to release that reaction to the memory of the event from your body will help to reduce stress overload and triggers.

Stress and control

Stress is contributed to the desire to be in control. This not only includes control over yourself, but control over other people and your environment. Trying to control others and your environment, however, is impossible. You only have control over your own thoughts and actions. In order to relieve stress and anxiety it is important to let go of trying to control things outside of yourself. We are unable to foresee the future and cannot control what events will happen next. Focusing on future potential problems contributes to anxiety. On the other hand, people are able to prepare for things that might occur and have a plan of how you would like to respond to events. This could be as simple as having a repair kit in your car for getting a flat tire or preparation for an interview and the questions that might be asked during the interview process.

Part of living life is that things always change. Change is normal. How you perceive something will impact how you react to it. This is where the fight or flight reaction occurs. You can decide to be proactive and address the situation. Making a choice to take care of things when they occur. Or you can expend a lot of energy avoiding issues and letting them build. Taking action will actually help to reduce stress and anxiety in the long run. In addition, there will be a feeling of empowerment as you begin to deal with problems as they arise. Trust your intuition and creatively think of all ways you could resolve the issue at hand. Even if you try to tackle a problem and don’t succeed, you could then view this as a temporary setback. Review what happened and try to approach it differently. Setbacks can be temporary. Find who your friends are and develop a support system. Another option is to seek counseling in order to have someone that is impartial as part of your support system. You don’t have to always take care of problems by yourself. Ask your friends, counselor or other support persons what they think about a situation. They might have ideas that you would not think of on your own. Learning to address problems as they occur will help you to change your perception of things from problems to challenges. Doing so will continue to help you build your sense of self esteem and empowerment. Identifying challenges as they occur, developing a plan to deal with the challenge, asking others for their point of view, taking action and keeping focus on the goal you are working toward will help to strengthen your resiliency.

Steps to reduce stress

Each one of us is a unique individual and we all have different experiences throughout our lives that affect our perception. What might be a stressful event for one person, might not be viewed as stressful for someone else. In addition, some activities are more stressful than others. Self care including eating well and getting enough sleep are important for stress reduction. Making time for doing activities that are relaxing is preventative to reducing stress overload. Relaxation is important, but there is no one right way to relax. Some people find that sleeping or going to the beach is relaxing. Others choose to be involved in an enjoyable activity or hobby as a way of relaxing. The goal is to find an activity that allows you to escape from everyday worries and problems. There is no right way to do that. Relieving stress can be done by meditation, exercise or doing an activity. Making the time to care for yourself is a priority that helps to reduce stress overload.

As you focus on making positive change in your life that will help to reduce stress and anxiety, be forgiving of yourself if you don’t resolve your problems immediately. Being critical of yourself is very easy to do, especially when people close to you have been critical of you for a long period of time. That critical voice can be very loud when you don’t get it right the first time. A suggestion is a positive response to the changes you are trying to make and to be forgiving of yourself when things don’t go perfectly as planned. These are some suggestions that might work or to come up with your own.

 “As things develop, I will, through listening to guidance from my unconscious, adapt to changing circumstances and grow with them.”

 “I may not get what I want when I want it; I trust that things will work out in their own good time, for my ultimate benefit, as long as I remain calm and peaceful.”

 “I may not get what I want at all, and yet, in remaining calm and attentive, I may discover something else that I need even more than what I thought I wanted.”

How you perceive a situation will affect how you respond. Whether you choose to address the issue or to avoid it. If you have a negative perception then you are more likely to experience anxiety and not be able to effectively take care of the problem. This will then reinforce that you have no control over the outcome and reinforce the perception of being helpless. On the other hand, a positive perception will help you to find a way to deal with the challenge you are presented with. If you choose to take responsibility for your feelings and actions then you are more likely to have a positive outcome. This will reinforce the sense of resiliency and empowerment. Breaking old patterns of behavior is difficult, especially when trying to do it by yourself. Being willing to look at yourself and to identify changes you would like to make takes a lot of energy and time. The more effort you put into making a positive lifestyle change, the greater the feeling of accomplishment you will experience. Develop a support system, whether family, friends or a counselor. Having someone that helps you to make positive change will increase the likelihood that the change will be long term instead of temporary.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

SELF Dance Your Way Slim


Haha..!! I've finally have this video. I'm kinda freak to dance this lately. Well, that's just another sport that I like beside biking, avoid run, push up and sit up hehee. I first knew about this DVD was at Self mag. I was just falling in love at the first time I saw it's ads. Well, last month my friend bought this DVD for me at amazon. I was so excited an couldn't wait patiently. Finally it was arrived last January.

I had no difficult watching this video. It showed step by step dancing with clearly explanations. I love the groovy music inside. This tutorial included warm up so there's no way we got whetted if we follow instructions correctly. It said that we can see the result in 4 weeks, we'll see then. But after all I'm quite satisfied with this DVD. It's amazing to get your body sweat with the way you love.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Backdancers!




Do you love dancing? If you do, this movie could be a reference for you. This movie tell story about two young girl (Yoshika and Miu) who've been dropped out from their school because they went into night club for dance. After searching a new place for dance, they and their new friend, Juli went a place that they called "Moondance Club". At one moment Juli was purposed to be a new singer, Miu, Yoshika and others two girl (Tomoe and Aiko) were supposed to be Juli's back ground dancers. They were called Backdancers. After Juli resigned from entertainment, their careers were down. A new artist manager Chano and friends helped them to bring them back on stage. A lot of struggles, tears,friendship and commitment were in this movie.

A worthfull movies to watch. So excited to watch many dancing moves in this film. Salute for the choreographer. You can watch this movie here. Don't forget to give some comments. Cheers !!

The Battery

This is one of my recent watch movies. The story is about a boy, Takumi, who become a great pitcher in a baseball team. He has a little brother that weak and easy to get ill, Seiha. His mother always blame him cause his little bro want to play baseball with him. He also meet a friend who can catch his pitch, Gao, but this friendship got mess when they play match with the best baseball yunior highscool team. They have to communicate well to win. Win the friendship and family not just the game.

So cute boys, so simple and focus story are the strengths of this movie. I've cried at the end when Takumi's mother finally blessing him to play baseball. Wondering when Indonesia have this kind of movie, story of kids, simple but focus...really really focus and total (specially the running and training scene). You can read the sinopsis right here but you must register first to watch the movie, don't worry it's free.

Almost forget... I also love the ending song. "People like to talk about their reason to gave up, that's way dream always locked in the box"

A Little More Personal

Aha!!! I found blogs that belongs to two of our beautifull artists. They are Dian Sastro and Wulan Guritno...my lovely sistas *halah*. Dian's blog is premium domain not free one, so simple template powered by Wordpress. We can see some of her photos and read about her activities such as how enthusiastic she was when discussing about that movie sensoring thing. What I like most among her story is one which title Cemonk. That "Cemonk" kinda same with what I used to said "Toil" hehehe.
For Wulan Guritno, she used blogger, same with this one hehe. She said that she was asked by Dian to start blogging. We can see that they are best friends. Same with Dian, Wulan talked a lot about her activities and her feelings. The most Story that I like is this, long title hehe... I can really tell that Wulan is a care person and so tough. Keep spirit, Mom!!
You can go here and here to get in touch with them.

Long Time No See

Huaaaa.... It's been ten days I've left this blog. I got a lot of work to be done and promises to be paid hehe. Since February 1st, I've got moved back to my old job desc, calling people to collect debts. AAAARRGGGHHH... so sick enough for the target an KPI stuff, and now I have to redo that again??!!please...yeah but what more can I do? just following the boss.
On February 2nd I went to my old sister class wedding at Panjalu Ciamis. The plan was going with my best friends, but uhh... for some reasons the plan was canceled and I had to go on my own. Huuaaaaa.... that was the first time for me to go to out of Purwokerto alone on a bus. Fortunately I have a friend in Ciamis, Indri (my bestfriend's girlfriend actually hehehe). I went to Teh Aci's wedding driven by Indri's brother, De' An. After back from the wedding I planned to go home to Purwokerto at the afternoon but again the plan got canceled. Finnaly, I went back to Purwokerto at the next morning. On the way back I've almost got left by bus twice, Ya Allah. First at Ciamis terminal, I waited at the wrong side. My bus had lots of problem on the journey. The tyre has leaked and something was wrong with the machine. And when the bus stopped to fix the machine, I went to house next the road to take a pee, but when I came out from the house the bus is just going.... I screamed and gladly the bus man heard me. And I 've got on bus again..hihi
The previous week was a trainee week. I had to give training to my new patner. Well I've known her since last year so I didn't get any trouble but it took times thus I hadn't have any chance to update this blog. And this week, oh got already a lot problems at the early. A lot of data, slow system and error blocking thing, that cause so many consumers complain to us. Gotta back to work now. See ya soon... Wish me luck, okey!!