Can you control your dreams?

dream

drēm/

noun

1. 1.

   a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep.

Last few nights, I've dreamt the same dream again and again.  Well, perhaps it's not exactly the same, but it has a similar theme.  I dream of having a gigantic aquarium in the basement.  In real life, I don't have a basement.  This occurs at least several time this week.  Weird.

Sometimes dreams are so vivid, look so real, feel so real.  The intensity of a dream (or nightmare) could wake you up.  It happens to me about two nights ago.  I dream of trying to escape from a witch (too much watching Charmed, lol), and I was going to rescue this one puppy by pushing it across a fence, but it bounced back because the witch cast a spell on it.  And at that moment, I knew I was doomed to death since the witch only have one prisoner, me.  The witch must have known that it was me who did the rescue (and escape) attempt.  So I shout, "Nooooooo...!"  and it got carried away to my reality.  I woke up with still yelling,"Noooo" and it woke my husband up.  He simply said,"Aww, you just had a bad dream."

I'm not sure if we can control our dream.  Somehow random thoughts jumping here and there, and in some cases it doesn't even make sense at all.  Sometimes I want something really bad that it appears in my dreams.  But often times, I don't have any clue whatsoever of what those dreams could mean.

Can you control your dreams?

Catchy Commercial!

Going home from work tonight, my husband and I heard a catchy commercial in the radio.  It's a weight loss ad, and "only call if you want to loose weight for legitimate reason".  For legitimate reason!!  Hahaha,  I wonder if there's an illegitimate reason to loose weight?

I think that commercial is great!  It's capturing audience's interest by using different wording and interesting idea.  After the commercial long gone, me and my husband keep discussing it (and joking about it) for the next ten minutes.  Wow!

We ran several scenarios of what might happen when a prospective buyer call in after the commercial.

"I want to buy your weight loss product, but for illegitimate reason.  Will you still sell it to me?"

"No Sir/Madam, cannot sell it to you if it's not for legitimate purposes."

"Okay, okay, I'll use it for just legitimate purposes.  I promise!"

Hahaha,  this is just too funny.  :)

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower - the perfect recipe!

After experimenting with different recipes, I finally found the perfect recipe for this healthy veggie. This recipe is so simple and easy!  You can expand it to lots of variety by changing the seasoning if you'd like to.  I've made it over and over again for my family, and everyone loves it, including my picky husband!  Hope you like it as we do.  Thursday night normally is the cauliflower night! :)

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets, washed and cleaned.
1/4 cup evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
5-6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 teaspoon of dried basil or thyme or oregano

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Mix all the ingredient in a bowl, spread into a single layer on a baking sheet.  As always, grease your baking sheet with PAM spray, or use the silicone mat.
3.  Roast for 20 minutes.

Going Blind

This post is dedicated to Dana Elcar (Pete Thorton in Macgyver)

If you can read this, then you are a very lucky person.  Or fortunate.  Or blessed.  Or whatever you name it.  How so?  The story below is the reason why.

I always amazed at the guy who play as Pete Thornton, Macgyver's boss in Phoenix Foundation, from the TV Series Macgyver (1985-1992).   Pete is the fatherly figure and definitely not the arrogant bossy type.  There's an authority aura around him, but yet we can feel his genuine and kind spirit in him.  I think Dana Elcar is the perfect match to play as Pete Thornton.

I searched more about Dana Elcar, since I only knew him as "Pete" from Macgyver.  I was curious to see if he played in other movies.  As it turns out, he did played in some other movies before, and regarded as one of the good actor of his time.  As Richard Dean Anderson said about him, "There were no bumpy roads with Dana."  Such a great co-worker too!

Unfortunately, during the 4 seasons of Macgyver in the making, he was diagnosed with glaucoma.
An illness which will eventually turn someone to blindness.  He reported to his producers that he was going to be blind, and his producers simply replied,"The fact that you are losing your eyesight does not mean you have forgotten how to act," Elcar recounted in a 1991 speech to the National Federation of the Blind.

Eventually he became blind.  But even after he lose his eyesight, he kept on acting.  Mainly on stage, at Santa Paula Theater Center.  He passed away in 2005.  I can imagine that about the last 10 years of his life was spent in blindness due to glaucoma.

Then here's what I'm thinking.  How can you live a life without the ability to see?  Yes you can still hear, taste, smell, touch.  But I think being blind also means that you will have to re-learn to live with a new condition.  To try to imagine color in a colorless reality.  To use your other senses more keenly.  To forget the world you knew so well and enter into a different dimension and adjust with it until you fully accept it and  let it become your new reality.

I think sometimes we take things too lightly and take it for granted.  Instead of truly appreciating of what we have, we become ignorant and only focusing on things that we thought is important.  Well how important is one imperfect surrounding in a selfie photo to a man who cannot see?

It's still amazing that there are a lot of blind people who possesses courageous spirits to continue moving on and actually become successful.  I think Dana Elcar is one of them too.  To continue living in a world that he loves, the acting world, till the end.  Stevie Wonder (musician) , Helen Keller (author), Louis Braille (inventor of Braille system - reading method for the blind), Andrea Bocelli (opera singer), Galileo Galilei (astronomer), and the list go on and on and on.

Suddenly our problems seem so petty.  Our trouble seems smaller.  We can still see!  If they don't let blindness in their way and even can contribute more to humanity, then we should not give up for whatever reason.  Human spirit is one of the strongest thing in the world.  So let's not loose hope!

If you can still see, you can still conquer whatever it is you're facing now.  Even if you can't see anymore, you can always learn the new skills and live your life to the fullest.

Thank you Dana for your contribution to the world. May you rest in peace. (He passed away June 6, 2005).

MacGyverism

So today me and my husband watched one of our favorite TV Show, MacGyver.  We love watching Macgyver!  And we both agreed that if one day Macgyver ever be produced again, the leading actor should and must be Richard Dean Anderson! :)

Most of us who ever lived in Asia continent around late 80's and early 90's practically grow up with Macgyver.  I know there's lots of new TV series out there these days.  But there's just something different with these 80's-90's TV show.  Somehow I think they are more original, simpler, and can convey the message better.

Macgyver is such a persona of a genius handyman who can survive in any dangerous situation using his wit and his Swiss army knife.  And lots and lots of duct tape.  I remember seeing one episode when he escaped by creating an airplane made of bamboo sticks and large garbage bags.  So cool!

We like other supporting characters too, like Pete from Phoenix Foundation - his boss, Jack Dalton and his "Dalton Air" - his buddy, Penny Parker - his actress friend, and even Murdoch - his villain.
Every episodes are different and unique, yet they resemblance same theme over and over again.   There is a situation, there is a threat, and with Macgyver there, there will be a way out.

Another thing that I like about the show, is the morale of the story.  Macgyver believes in protecting the environment (Episode: Black Rhino, The Negotiator), save the innocent (there's lots of episodes where his mission is to rescue the imprisoned from their captors), and raising awareness on social-economic issues (like the Jewel Heist, the Wish Kid, etc).

If we ever stuck in a dangerous situation, I want Macgyver to be there with us. :)

Roasted Terong Istimewa/Special Roasted Eggplant

I'm so happy to found such a perfect recipe for this special roasted eggplant!  So excited to share this with you!  Every time I made this, me and my mom end up always finishing it!  I planned to bring this to work as an office snack, but alas, always gone before the end of the day, lol.  

Here's the how to:

1) One eggplant, half it, then create a X cross pattern with your knife in the flesh.  No need to make a too-deep cut.  Salt it.  Let it sit for 30 minutes.  In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400F.

2) Drain the salt since eggplant will draw up some moisture.  Then cut it to big cubes like picture above or below.

3) Season time!  Mix it altogether in a bowl.  I use pepper, cloves, and paprika.  No need to salt it since the eggplant still retain the saltiness from the previous 30 minutes.  If you'd like to be spicier, put cayenne pepper or chili powder.  The seasoning is up to your liking.  Don't forget the olive oil.  

4)  Place the seasoned eggplant in cookie sheet.  Make sure to spread it as a single layer, we don't want to steam it.  Bake for 1 hour.

5)  1 hour later.... voila!  You'll have a perfect healthy snack ready to go!  When you bite to it, the skin will be crunchy on the outside, and the flesh will be tender and juicy in the inside.  Yum!

Enjoy!  Hope you like it as we do! :)

7 steps to a better state of mind

A great reminder for both you and I.  I've read the article in my friend's Facebook long time ago, I don't remember all the words, but I did summarize the bullet points of that article.  Here we go:

1. Wake up early.
Everyone said they wish they have more time, right?  Then there you go.  Waking up 30 minutes early could mean that you have 30 minutes more time.  But don't deprive yourself from that precious sleep though.  Sleep is still important!

2. Organize your life.
I can't stress it enough, organizing your life is critical to your well-being.  Everything has its own place.  Place important documents in the folder/drawer/cabinet.   Track and manage your finance. Make a budget.  Stick to the budget.  Clean your house.  Take care of your well-being.  Simply put, organizing your life will make you feel better and live better.  Knowing that everything are taken care of put less stress and the weight out of your mind.

3. Try something new.
Sometimes routines and the same daily grind could lead to the kingdom of boringness.  So let's try something new!  Pursue new hobby.  Do something different today.  Or revisit old hobbies.  Back to the kitchen and put those spices to work!  Whip up new dish.  Internet is your good sources for inspiration.  Or perhaps instead of jogging the same route over and over again, take different path this time.  Enjoy different scenery.  Meet new people.  Doing something new put the world at a fresher perspective.

4. Take a mundane task and make it interesting.
Simply put, attach a flair on it.  Make it personal.  Make it yours.  Who knows typing could be so much fun when you transfer all of your energy and personality into it?  

5. Be kind.
It is easy to build up a wall and put a distance for the people around you, especially the ones you don't like.  But the truth is, everyone is at some point fighting a battle that you don't see with your plain eyes.  So be kind.  Extend generosity.  At least acknowledge their stories with the appropriate response.   A little smile won't hurt anyone.  If you offer "Good morning!" plus the smile and that perky attitude, and nobody responding at you back, don't get discouraged.  At least you've placed yourself in a position where you are ready to be happy and spread that joy to those who'd like it.

6. Let go of resentment or grudge.
Like Queen Elsa from Frozen said (or sang), "Let it go!".  Resentment is like an anchor that weight you down, pull you towards the bottom of the world.  Let it go.  Fly away.  Forgive and forget.  Look at that bad experience as the stepping stone to propel you forward.  You can do it!

7. Live with gratitude.
Be thankful of your life, your achievement, your family, and your bright future ahead.  Always aiming to the next success point.  Gratitude makes you feel accomplished.  Gratitude prepares you to the next exciting journey, whatever it is.  Gratitude gives you gladness, that everything is okay, and will be okay eventually.

Have a fantastic day!! :)

Blog Revival. I'm BACK! :)

After about 3 years absence of blogging, I decided to come back here.  I am back!!! I have not yet decide to continue this blog in my native language, Bahasa Indonesia; or in the universal language of the world, the English language.  I do enjoy writing in Indonesian, as a reminder of how much I miss my homeland.  However, I think by writing in English, I may reach out to broader audience. So people from all nations can enjoy the benefit of my thoughts and feelings!  After all, the more the merrier!

For a start, I'm going to continue in English.  But who knows in next future blog I'll write again in Indonesian.  I don't want to lose the skill of "being able to speak in another language". :)

It is now 2015.

Wow.  Time sure flies fast.  In few months, me and my husband will celebrate our 10th year wedding anniversary.  Sometimes I think I've been married longer than that time, but in other days it feels that it was just yesterday of me meeting him for the first time.  We met via yahoo chess online.  And just when you think that chess is so 1983, I see that my husband is now still playing chess online (his desk is right next to my desk, so I can see his game on the other computer screen), and still winning them games!  Yay honey! ♥

Sometimes I think my past life are just dreams.  Now I live in a different reality.  Sometimes I can't believe that once upon a time ago, I lived in another country, under different weather, with different type of people.  Different dreams, different goals.

But you know what, people around the world are basically the same.  They have feelings.  They have worry.  They have pride.  There are humble people, there are arrogant ones.  There are nice people, there are rude ones.  There are considerate kind, and there are selfish type.  There are the ones that you can trust, and of course there's also the type that will "throw you under the bus".  It's the same here and there.

So, I decided to not worry anymore about the "people" part.  I'm going to focus on my goals, my dreams.  It may have been changed, adapted, and evolved; but I still have the willpower to see it through.  My short-term goal is to loose weight with daily exercise.  Not that I need to, as my BMI level is at normal. But I think it's important to ensure I keep the daily workout for longevity.

During July 2011 till July 2013, I've lost about 23 pounds (roughly 10 kg).  That's just by limiting my portions and watching what I ate.  No exercise.  But looks like I've hit the weight loss plateau.  From July 2013 till late 2014, I haven't loss significant amount, and the weight is creeping back up.  So as the New Year's 2015 resolution, I decided to put my 100% commitment in back to portion control, plus now, the exercise.

Lately, I've been doing the dance workout from Youtube (thank you Michelle Le May!! You're awesome!).  Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEjsAW5rokA.  And I gotta tell you, the first day I've done it, I was sweating!!  I haven't sweat in a long time, well because I wasn't exercising regularly, but after that 1st time of doing Michelle's dance workout, I felt refreshed and excited!  I am committed to do this in the daily basis!

Well, that's it for now.  I'll see you all again in the next blog.  Thanks for your time reading this.  I'm happy to share my life with you, my dear blog readers!  Have a great day! :)