Andy's Corner


"....ada banyak bibit di dalam diri manusia.
Ada bibit kebodohan, keserakahan, kemarahan, iri hati, dendam.
Ada juga bibit kesabaran, kasih sayang, cinta, memaafkan, persahabatan.
Pertanyaan berikutnya, bibit-bibit mana yang kita sirami setiap harinya?"

(Gede Prama)

This book is so...touchy. A lot of great stories and quotes spread all over it. There are 22 stories written by Andy F. Noya, the host of Kick Andy show.

From the stories here, I found out about Andy's life, as a broken home child, his childhood, his struggle in life, his thoughts and all other things that at last make me cried and laughed.

After reading this book, I got a picture of what kind of person he is, a very general description off course, since I don't know Andy personally. I learned a lot from Andy 's life. Why he is so humble, so positive in everything he does. I conclude it all comes from his life experiences. His life experiences are so rich.

From 22 stories here, my favorite is "Lentera Jiwa", talking about a person with his job. If you love your job, it means you do it not as an obligation but simply because you love it, then congrats, you have found your Lentera Jiwa. The story really hits me. Yeah, I'm still looking for my Lentera Jiwa.

I've read somewhere a quote says: "Find a job that you love, then you don't have to work for the rest of your life."

Berbahagialah mereka yang menikmati pekerjaannya
Berbahagialah mereka yang sudah mencapai taraf bekerja adalah berekreasi
Sebab mereka sudah menemukan lentera jiwa mereka


(Andy F. Noya)

Shopaholic the Movie

Watched it the other day and felt completely disappointed. Too high expectation? Could be. Since I'm a big fan of Sophie Kinsella and read, enjoy and fall in love with all her books, but when I saw the movie, whoa....so shallow, seemed like watching a very ordinary movie, not the shopaholic (my idol) Becky Bloomwood.

I know that books and movies are two different things. But....at least the movie could do more.

No wonder that Brazilian writer, Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist, Zahir, Eleven Minutes) has no intention at all to put his books into movies. He said that he wanted his readers to have their own unlimited imagination upon reading his books. It also happened to Milan Kundera (writer of The Identity, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) who once agreed to let his book adapted into a movie and when he saw it, he was truly disappointed and said that he wouldn't let his books to be put into movies ever again. Well.......well...adapting book into movie is really not a simple thing.

See complete review here (written by my partner in crime: Karin).

Weedflower


Second book of Cynthia Kadohata after Kira-kira. Still enchanting. This book tells about a-12-yr-old-girl, Sumiko who felt that her life was separated between two parts: the good part (before Pearl Harbor bombing) and the bad part (after Pearl Harbor bombing. Grown up in a beautiful garden in California, Sumiko had a cozy home, beloved family and her Weedflower.

All was changed after Pearl Harbor incident. American people got suspicious to all Japanese people. The Japanese people were relocated to a camp in Indian reservation area. The hottest desert in USA.

The writer wrote her story based on facts at the time of Pearl Harbor incident. Weed flower is a beautiful story about fear, happiness and friendship.

Sputnik Sweetheart


The more I read Haruki Murakami's books, the more I fall in love with his writing. Like this one, check its opening lines: "In the spring of her twenty-second-year,Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life....... The person she fell in love with happened to be seventeen years older than Sumire. And was married. And I should add, was a woman. This is where it all began, and where it all wound up. Almost"

See, how could I leave this kind of story. I couldn't even put it down before I finished the whole story. There's romance here, weird things as usual, all packed in a perfect combination.

It's a story of a college student, identified as "K", falls in love with his classmate, Sumire ('Violet' in Japanese), while Sumire falls in love with Miu, an older woman, and much more sophisticated businesswoman. When Sumire disappears from an island in Greece, K joins Miu and trying their best to find Sumire.

A love story mixed with a detective story, obviously entertaining. Still couldn't get this story out of my mind even after sometime.

Najla's Birthday


Happy 4th birthday, kakak Najla
Wish you good health, happiness, and all good things in life
Thank you for being such a great kid all this time
We are so proud of you

Lotta love: Mama, Ayah, & dedek Zea
(March 1, 2009)

Great cake's made by our favorite baker, thanks a lot!