5 Balls

I don't know if this concept is true or not.

Work is treated as if it's a separate life. "If you drop it, it'll bounce back."

No, it doesn't.

Work is part of life. What happens at work, will eventually affect your personal life. Whatever happens at work, you'll carry that to your home as well. Probably not the work itself, but the effect the work caused.

For example. Let's say you have a very successful day at work. You feel happy, productive, energized, and accomplished. You go home feeling great, and when you feel great, you'll treat your family member better at home.

Vice versa, let's say you have a bad day at work. That grumpiness and whatever negative feeling you have, you'll bring it home too. Or probably to the bar (if you that type of person who likes to drown the sorrow of life in many bottles of drinks). And when you're at home, you probably will get irritated with a slight disturbance caused by your kids, spouse, or even your dog.

And if you do work in a job that you hate, you'll never feel fulfilled. You'll live a miserable life. And if you happen to be one of those lucky people who work in a job you love, you'll live life to the fullest. You even can create grand masterpiece in your work, which that accomplishment will be carried long into the future, long after the work itself done.

I truly wish work is a rubber ball. That it can bounced back easily. But the reality is... it's not. It's also a glass ball too. With probably too many stitches and patches here and there.

The truth is, all of these 5 balls are glass balls. But the good news is, these are the kind of balls that can be fixed (unless if you're diagnosed with terminal illness that has no cure - that is different). But if let's say you have a differences with your families, or friends, you can always make up, say sorry, and move on from that experience. If your spirit is broken, you can always attempt to soothe your feelings, and calm yourselves (for me this is so hard, but I keep trying though).

Life itself is not easy, and not hard. Instead of juggling with everything, I'm just going to take it easy. Know what my priorities are. Try to eliminate distractions on things that are not going to help me get to my goals. Relax more. I don't want to be caught up in a matter too seriously --- which could cost me my health. It's not worth it.

It's only a temporary life anyway. I'm not carrying those balls to my grave.

Enjoy Life

*** Posted with the permission of the author, my friend Kumala Dewi. ***

Many have asked me, "How come you look so relaxed, Wi? As if you have no burden, really enjoy life."

To be honest, I'm an ordinary human. Still give up if I'm in traffic jam for hours due to rain, still want to explode if I meet a super dumb person, still struggling to beat my own ego, still stress if there's a personal matter, still doubt with what I'm fighting now, still crying and devastated when I broke up, and there's still a lot of other "still". Same like the other people too, right?

The difference, in my opinion, is the way I look at and address these problems. Perhaps so. I tried to make my life as simple as possible. Attempted! Sometimes I fail anyway. But the essence of minimal importance here is "I'm trying." By trying, does not mean to always succeed. But if they fail, the failure will be more elegant. Hahaha .. That's what I thought anyway.

I personally believe to always focus on the same thing as the solution than to lament and reflect on a problem or situation. By doing so, in my opinion, we will be more elevated mentally, and it doesn't feel too heavy to live. More fun. More motivated. It was as though the heart screaming, but lips still smiling. Not that I pretended to be happy or cheerful or relaxed. But in doing so, I automatically calm myself and my positive aura will radiate, so my thoughts become clearer and my body will become more energetic to focus the search for a solution.

If I complain a lot, prolonged miserable, then the aura that comes out directly or indirectly will have a negative impact on the people around, and also to ourselves. It's called energy sucker. I do not like feeling that way. Not resolving the issue as well, right? It seems that this principle forms my opinion.

Life is short, they say. So enjoy it while there is still time. Blessed. Be thankful. Let difficulties for the one day be only for today (wise words). All is just temporary. You can because you used to do it. Life itself is the result of the decisions we make, which consists of a series of options we've made until now. The philosophy to enjoy life no matter what happens is a choice which become my decision, which truly strengthens me.  

Maybe for some people, this looks like a mere theory. But that's what I do. For those who know me, this true story is indisputable.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

#pieceofmind

#secondedition

Kumala Dewi

###

*** Dikisahkan seijin pengarangnya, temanku Kumala Dewi. ***

Banyak yang suka nanya, "Kok lo santai banget sih, Wi? Kayak ga punya beban, enjoy life banget."

Sejujurnya ya, saya juga masih manusia biasa sih. Masih suka putus asa rasanya kalau ngadepin macet berjam-jam di jalan gara-gara hujan, masih pengen marah tingkat dewa kalau ketemu orang yang dungunya setengah mati, masih berjuang untuk mengalahkan ego sendiri, masih mumet kalau ada masalah pribadi, masih punya keraguan dengan apa yang saya perjuangkan saat ini, masih nangis dan patah hati juga kalau putus cinta, dan "masih" yang lainnya. Sama kan dengan orang-orang pada umumnya?

Yang membedakan, menurut saya, adalah cara saya memandang dan menyikapi masalah-masalah itu. Mungkin gitu ya. Saya berusaha bikin hidup saya sesimpel mungkin. Berusaha! Kadang gagal kok. Tapi minimal esensi pentingnya di sini adalah "Saya berusaha". Dengan berusaha, bukan berarti harus selalu berhasil. Tapi kalau pun gagal, gagalnya akan lebih elegan. Hahaha.. Ini bisa-bisaan saya aja sih.

Saya pribadi berprinsip untuk selalu fokus sama yang namanya solusi dibandingkan harus meratapi dan merenungi sebuah masalah atau keadaan. Dengan begitu, menurut saya, mental kita akan lebih terangkat dan hidup rasanya ga terlalu berat. Lebih seru. Lebih termotivasi. Ibaratnya bibir tersenyum walau hati menjerit. Bukan berarti saya pura-pura bahagia atau ceria atau santai. Tapi dengan berlaku demikian, otomatis saya menghibur diri sendiri dan aura positif akan memancar, sehingga pikiran saya jadi lebih jernih dan tubuh lebih berenergi rasanya untuk fokus mencari solusi tersebut.

Kalau saya banyak mengeluh misalnya, nelangsa berkepanjangan, tentunya aura yang keluar secara langsung atau tidak langsung akan berdampak negatif pada orang sekitar juga selain diri sendiri. Itu yang disebut energy sucker. Saya ga suka punya perasaan seperti itu. Ga menyelesaikan masalah juga kan? Prinsip ini yang membentuk saya kelihatannya ya.

Hidup ini cuma sebentar, katanya. Jadi nikmatilah selagi masih ada waktu. Berbahagialah. Bersyukurlah. Kesusahan hari ini biarlah untuk hari ini saja, kata orang bijak. Semua hanya sementara. Bisa karena terbiasa. Hidup sendiri adalah hasil dari keputusan yang kita buat, yang terdiri dari rangkaian pilihan yang kita jalankan hingga seperti sekarang ini. Prinsip untuk menikmati hidup itu sendiri apa pun yang terjadi adalah satu pilihan yang jadi keputusan saya, yang justru menguatkan saya.

Mungkin buat beberapa orang, ini terlihat seperti teori semata. Tapi inilah yang saya lakukan. Bagi yang kenal saya, ini kisah nyata yang tak terbantahkan. 😊

Selamat menikmati sisa hari Minggu kalian ya!

#sekelumitpemikiran
#edisidua

Kumala Dewi

Reminiscence

"60 years from now, when I'm 97, I'll look back at this photo and remember the happy times I share with this wonderful man, my lovely husband. ♥♥♥""

That was my newest post in my Facebook status. I can't help it. Sometimes I dwell too much in the "future". I'm imagining how my life will be in the future, even though often times, I found, the future is different that what I envisioned before. But still, I can't help to not daydream about it.

Normally, the older generations will "go" first. That's the circle of life, isn't it? The old goes first, then the young become old, and so on. So, being the youngest in my family, I can't help thinking what my life will be when I become very old.

I imagine, when I'm 97. 60 years from now. The year of 2076.

Mama probably will be gone by then. My husband, which is only 5 years older than me, maybe still alive and kicking, or maybe joining my mom and dad in heaven. Me? I probably have few years left, or maybe already gone with the wind too.

But if I still alive by then, I probably will be alone, looking at old pictures, reminiscence on the good times of the past, counting my blessings, that once upon a time, I was given this good lifetime to enjoy with people I love and those same people who love me back.

A little tears show up in the corner of my eye.

I don't want the good times to be gone. I want the moments to stay. I want to freeze the time. Although I know, time will still move slowly from here to 2076.

So I'm thinking, and feeling, that I should always enjoy the good moments that we shared together in this short life. I should always cherished every moment. I always should make more room to love and to really live in the moment. I should let go every regret and never allow negative thinking to steal the precious moment of life. I always have to be happy and spread that happiness to everyone who are still in my life.

Because we all are given this one lifetime. The only lifetime. To love, to live, and to be happy. And to really spend the time with those people we love, who we called family and friends.

And now I have to go back to the kitchen and prepare our afternoon snacks. Going to bake some Red Lobster biscuits! ^_^

Investment

When we hear the word "investment", our minds often racing to the financial meanings behind it. It's true though.

According to Wikipedia:
To invest is to allocate money (or sometimes another resource, such as time) in the expectation of some benefit in the future.

Beside your money, there are other ways you can expand your investment activities to include certain areas : like invest in your children and invest in yourself. All investment are important, because it's directing today's effort for future benefits.

1. Invest your money.
If you want to be rich, you have to start investing your money. If you want to be a little be ahead of the game, start investing. If you want to have money tree (where you literally just "harvest" the fruit of your money tree), start investing. If you don't know how, learn. There are tons of books and articles already written in investment subject. The point is, start investing your money.  Be careful to not be trapped in some investment scams though. Study it before you do anything. Test with something small first. If you like where your investment is heading, you can always add more later.

2. Invest in your children.
Their future is in our hands. Our future is in theirs. Eventually we all will live in the world they created. They are our future leaders, scientist, doctors, teachers, soldiers, etc. If we don't help invest in their upbringing, then who will?

3. Invest in yourself.
Continuous learning to perfect your skills and crafts. Sharpen your axe. Nobody can say it better than the king of investment himself, Warren Buffet.

In the end of the day, don't we all want to be better financially, emotionally, intellectually, living in a better world for future generations?

"I'm still young. I'm only 66."

"I'm still young. I'm only 66." - T'Pol, Star Trek: Enterprise.

When T'Pol, Enterprise's Sub-Commander, said those wise words, I suddenly think deeper for the meaning behind it. T'Pol is a Vulcan, and for Vulcan, 66 is still considered young. Well, we all know that Vulcan has longer years to live compared to human.

But regardless, I really like the mindset of this concept. If you compare yourself now to the future, you are still young indeed. Who knows until when we'll live? If you know you're going to live to be 100, then 66 is still young. 34 years difference are right there!!

Now I'm going to be realistic. 66 in human age is not young. It is considered old. It's during the retirement time. The golden years. It's the time where you're facing with new things that never happened before: perhaps new grandchildren, new type of illness, or perhaps new type of dilemma of how to spend your time (considering if you work full 40 hours/week before), now that you have all those free time. It is the time where your money should work harder than yourself, so the financial experts say.

I like to think that age is just a number. You are as old as you think, and as young as you feel. In my age now, 37, I don't think I'm that old. Especially compared to 66. I feel that I'm right where I should be. I feel that now I have a little bit of wisdom of a 30, almost 40 yrs old, and still young enough to enjoy years before I have to wear a reading glasses. I do see some gray hairs here and there, but so what? Eventually I know all my hairs will be white anyway, so why not enjoy the natural highlight that gives a different and distinguish look?

I used to try to hide my gray hairs. I felt that it wasn't my time to have all that. But I look at my family member, my mom, cousins, aunts, oma, uncles, etc, and I like how they look now with their gray/white hairs. They look different than before. They look wise. So I've made a commitment with myself, that no matter what happens, I will never ever dye my hair anymore. I'm going to let it grow, and even proud showing my gray hairs, because that means I'm going to be wiser!

I'm wondering what my life will be when I'm 66. I kinda can't wait to peek at it. My mom always say, life still long, you'll never know what's going to happen next. And my husband will say that I shouldn't worry about things to come. Who knows if I still be alive by then? And that's true. My dad passed away when he was 59. He doesn't even ever see the age 66.

So, the moral of the story today is.... enjoy our age, whatever the number is. Today is the oldest you've been and the youngest  you will ever be!

WorkPlace: HSBC (ISG)

Waktu gue kerja di HSBC, pas tahun 2010-2011, gue sempet kerja rotasi di bagian ISG : Internal Support Group. Ini departemen khusus di bawah pimpinan manajemen senior kartu kredit untuk bagian customer service dan collection.  Tugas2nya adalah jadi asisten2 kecil bagi para manajer senior yang mengepalai divisi2 itu. Karena tipe kerjaan ini adalah rotasi, alias bukan posisi tetap, ini adalah break yang menyenangkan semasa gue dulu jadi kolektor.

Pertama2x, gue diwawancara oleh calon bos gue, Cassie.  Doi ini mirip sekali sama penyanyi favorit gue, Celine Dion! Yang gue suka dari Cassie, dia ini kalo ketawa lepas, bikin orang jadi pengen ketawa. Dia juga tipe boss yang tegas, lugas, tapi menarik deh kepribadiannya. Di waktu bulan pertama gue diterima kerja di ISG, gue ingat Cassie membawa kita semua anak2x baru ke restoran Cheesecake Factory di Washington Square Mall. Yum!! Terima kasih ya Cassie!

Selain gue, ada 3 orang lain yang diterima di ISG, yaitu:
- Tracie : wanita keturunan Hawaii - Jepang ini pintarnya luar biasa. Kalo ngomong cepet banget. Dan Tracie ini kebetulan lagi hamil anak ketiga (yang nantinya dinamai Hokulani), jadi kadang2 gue suka ngeliat dia ngelus2x perutnya pas lagi kerja, hehehe.
- Marina : wanita muda keturunan Rusia ini baju2nya selalu bagus. Terkesan formil dan professional. Di adat kebudayaan keluarganya, wanita nggak boleh pake celana panjang/pendek, jadinya dia selalu pake rok bawahan. Terus nantinya, setelah dia selesai masa rotasi ISG, dia akan menikah dengan pacarnya, nah setelah menikah, dia selalu pakai topi untuk menutupi kepalanya. Lagi2x karena adat tradisi, wanita yang sudah menikah tidak boleh keluar rumah tanpa kerudung kepala. Menarik juga ya budayanya?
- Travis : bapak empat anak ini orangnya baik, ramah, dan tidak sombong. Dia betul2x phlegmatis abis, artinya mudah diajak berteman, dan gue kayaknya nggak pernah liat dia marah deh. Sabarnya setengah mati! Seru pula kalo diajak ngobrol, pokoknya asik punya!

Kerjaan kita macem2x di sini. Kadang2 sebulan sekali kita dekorasi ruangan untuk TownHall, persiapkan mike dan sound system lainnya, nulis cek besar sebagai simbol penghargaan untuk pemenang2x Town Hall, dan lain sebagainya. Kita masing2 juga punya tugas sendiri2x. Gue diserahi tugas untuk menangani semua aplikasi hardship dari departemen collection. Ini adalah salah satu hal yang paling gue gemari. Awalnya susah, tapi lama2x gue nangkep maksudnya, dan jadi gampang mengerjakannya.

Terus kadang kita suka dikasih proyek2x khusus. Akhir tahun 2010, gue diserahi tugas untuk menangani kontes Galaxy Star (atau yang kayak gitu2x deh temanya). Gue juga udah lupa apa detailnya, tapi secara garis besar, ini adalah kompetisi bagi para team2 kolektor untuk mencapai planet2 dari planet Merkurius sampe planet terakhir, Neptunus. Maunya sih taruh Pluto, tapi sayang Pluto bukan planet lagi katanya. Seru juga, bikin poster2 besar untuk 34 team, terus mengawasi hadiah2 yang nanti akan diberikan untuk para pemenang.  Boss gue yang lain, Kevin, turut membantu banyak dalam kontes ini.

Sebulan sekali kita berempat juga harus datang super pagi (jam 3 pagi gitu) untuk melakukan sweep di floor yang namanya clean desk policy. Agak silly sih, tapi ya namanya juga peraturan perusahaan. Kita harus memastikan tidak ada informasi penting berceceran di meja kursi untuk 2 gedung : gedung A dan gedung B. Wah, paling males nih kalo udah harinya clean desk policy kayak gini. Karena itu artinya gue harus bangun super pagi, (dan memang pulangnya pagian, jam 10an gitu), tapi itu kan agak2x menganggu siklus tidur gua jadinya. Sniff.

Nah, kebetulan gara2xnya clean desk policy ini, gue kena kecelakaan mobil. Dua kali pula! Mungkin karena kurang tidur atau gimana gitu. Kecelakaan pertama terjadi sekitar Thanksgiving 2010 (bulan November). Ada truk gede di samping gue, dimana muatannya jatoh dan kena kaca mobil depan gue! Not my fault dong. Setelah gue udah agak ilang trauma2 gara2 kecelakaan pertama, ehhh pas bulan Maret 2011, gue kena kecelakaan lagi! Kali ini ada pengemudi gila yang tau2x pindah jalur ke jalur gue dan nabrak bagian belakang mobil gue. Gak cuma itu, setelah dia nabrak gue, dia percepat dia punya mobil untuk ke samping gue, terus nabrak gue lagi dari samping kanan!!! (Untung pengemudi di sini duduknya di bagian kiri). Mana itu mobil baru pula, KIA Forte warna merah yang cantik. Huh! Lagi2 bukan salah gua. Akhirnya setelah dibereskan, mobil gue nggak bisa diselamatkan. Sedih!

Gara2x kecelakaan ini, gua terpaksa menolak perpanjangan kontrak ISG yang tadinya berakhir di bulan Maret-April. Karena hasil kerja gue yang cukup bagus lumayan, para petinggi di kantor gue mau menawarkan perpanjangan kontrak gue di ISG. Tapi gue sudah trauma nyetir sendiri jarak jauh kayak gitu (25 mil jarak dari rumah ke kantor). Untunglah suami gue kerja satu kantor sama gue, jadinya gue balik ke departemen collections dan pergi kantor bareng2x suami gue. Boss gue saat itu, Jean (gantian, dulunya Cassie sekarang Jean), menasihati gue untuk mencoba menghilangkan trauma itu. Jean ini orangnya baik, sabar, humoris pula. Gue sayang banget sama Jean karena orangnya itu... baikkkk banget deh! Sayang akhirnya Jean pindah balik ke New York waktu divisinya dia dibubarkan.

Untuk sementara waktu gue nggak mau nyetir. Suami yang nyetir. Tapi Lloyd itu orangnya baik juga, dia nggak mau gue trauma terus2an. Dia mendorong gue untuk nyetir lagi dan menghadapi ketakutan gue. Jadinya gue mulai berani nyetir lagi dikit2x. Dan lama2 trauma itu pun hilang.

Setahun setelah gue di ISG, salah satu manajer di grup senior management, namanya Kevin, dia mendorong gue untuk apply posisi permanen di ISG. Akhirnya bukan rotasi lagi, tapi posisinya dibuat permanen. Tapi ya itu lagi, semangat gue agak2 ciut kalo inget kecelakaan. Karena kalo gue terima posisi ini, artinya kerja pagi, dimana gue dan suami skarang kerja kolektor kan shift siang-malem. Gue terpaksa sekali lagi menolak tawaran menggiurkan ini. Sigh. Kalo gue kerja bareng2x satu divisi dan satu shift sama Lloyd, kan artinya gue nggak usah nyetir sendiri.  Tapi gue terima kasih sama Kevin yang masih ingat sama gue dan percaya sama kemampuan gue.

ISG ini cuma 7-8 bulan, tapi pengalamannya menyenangkan!

If you have $100,000 to invest ...

Let's play a little game.

Let's say you have $100,000 to invest (that means not to pay debt, or buy gifts, or charity. This is just strictly to invest!). And let's say you're going to invest it in a mutual fund. Which funds you'll choose? And how would you allocate it? Will all go to one fund? Or will all be distributed evenly to all funds available? Or ... what will be your preference?

Here's some data about the fund choices:

Fund	Expense Ratio	10 Year Performance	3 Year Performance	1 Year Performance	Year To Date
Fund A	0.10%	7.55%	12.31%	12.57%	7.84%
Fund B	0.14%	8.33%	9.32%	7.07%	9.04%
Fund C	0.25%	4.25%	2.68%	5.27%	6.69%
Fund D	0.20%	5.47%	7.96%	8.25%	7.00%
Fund E	0.45%	7.84%	12.11%	6.64%	2.70%

Will you based on your investment based on certain period in time? Like Year To Date data, or 1,3,10 year performance? Will you consider the expense ratio (cost) as well?

Remember the ground rules of investment:
1. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results.
2. Past performance are historical data.

So what will you do? I'm curious to know what your choice will be!

WorkPlace: Capital One (IMC)

Pengalaman kerja di IMC (Integrated Mission Control) adalah salah satu pengalaman kerja yang paling unik dalam hidup gue. Soalnya kerjaan gue di sini adalah memantau call center untuk 10 departemen yang berbeda2x dan untuk lokasi2x kantor di seluruh Amerika, bahkan sampai ke luar negri segala, seperti untuk cabang yang di Filipina dan Amerika Selatan. Keren deh. Biasanya gue duduk di tengah2 command center, dimana ada skitar 12 sampe 16 monitor komputer, plus tambah laptop gue pula. Srasa jadi Batman! Kalo liat film Batman, pasti liat ruangan bawah tanahnya dia yang penuh dengan layar2x komputer untuk Batman, Robin, dan Alfred, kan?

IMC ini bergengsi banget deh. Isinya orang2 pintar semua di bidang teknologi dan call center monitoring. Gak cuma ngawasin jalannya call flow, tapi juga kalo ada insiden-insiden yang menyangkut sistem software, kita juga turut berperan untuk mengkontek IT engineers dan para orang teknisi lain untuk fix the problem.  Kita harus memastikan semua telpon customer diterima di channel yang benar, dan dalam waktu yang singkat (artinya customer gak boleh terlalu lama "nunggu" untuk dilayani).

Pertama-tama, gue diwawancara oleh calon boss gue, Kim dan Mary. Mereka ini cewek2x tangguh yang sudah lama berkecimpung di dunia bisnis call center. Gue dan Betty - rekan kerja gue dari Ops dulu! Baca blog sebelumnya: WorkPlace: Capital One (Ops Desk), diterima oleh mereka untuk masuk IMC. Hari pertama kita kerja adalah 17 Maret 2014.  Dan yang akan mentraining kita adalah Patty, wanita bijaksana yang berbakat pemimpin dan cerdas sekali! Masa trainingnya cukup singkat, hanya 2 minggu. Tapi materi yang dipelajari banyak sekali! Sampe2 gue agak2 minder, takut bikin kesalahan.

Gue jadinya kenalan lagi sama rekan2 kerja baru di IMC:
- Jeannine : cewek berambut super pendek ini hebat banget deh kalo menangani insiden! Dia juga dulunya guru biola! Doi nih yang nantinya ngajarin gue main biola! Permainan biola pertama gue ditampilkan di blogpost yang ini. Dia juga seneng investasi saham2x, jadi kadang2 gue malah ngomong2x soal investasi sama doi.
- Noe : cewek kelahiran Hawaii ini orangnya baik, manis, dan barusan menikah dengan pacarnya, Peter. Noe dan gue punya satu kesamaan. Kita sama2x penganut aliran Dave Ramsey! Pernah sekali dia kasih gue tiket untuk menghadiri satu sesi pendidikan keuangannya Dave. Enak punya temen kayak gini, jadinya kita sama2 punya goal untuk mencapai kondisi finansial yang lebih baik!
- Patty : wanita separuh baya ini kaya akan pengalaman di IMC, juga di pengalaman hidup. Karena Patty dan gue sama2x kerja shift malam, kita akhirnya jadi banyak cerita2x tentang kehidupan masing2x, dan saling belajar dari satu sama lain. Gue kagum dan salut akan kepribadiannya beliau yang kuat. Dan juga rasa kekeluargaannya dia besar sekali! Jadi kangen sama Patty... :)
- Bree : doi kalo bicara lantang, ceplas ceplos, berani, lucu, humoris, banyak pengetahuan, pintar, dan punya anjing chihuahua lucu yang namanya Peanut. Gue suka ketawa ngakak kalo Bree udah kumat becandanya. Dia ini juga salah satu sahabat karib gue di IMC, karena doi juga kerja shift malam bareng2 gue dan Patty. Terus gue paling seneng kalo dia bawa anjingnya ke kantor. Peanut tuh lucu abis!! Dan setelah gue rayu2x, akhirnya Peanut mau juga duduk sama gue! Yay!
- Monnie : cewek yang satu ini juga tangguh dan kelihatan perkasa. Maklum, dulu doi pernah kerja di dunia militer (di Navy kalo gak salah). Monnie punya anak satu yang namanya Heidi, dan Heidi ini pandai sekali. Sopan pula. Pasti bener nih doi mendidiknya. Monnie juga rada2x mirip Bree, kalo bicara langsung saja dilontarkan apa yang ada di pikirannya.
- Panna : cowok Asia yang satu ini unik banget. Pinter kayak geek squad, tapi pecinta damai dan dunia musik. Salah satu cita-citanya adalah jadi DJ around the world. Seru, kan? Orangnya juga sabar sekali. Sayang gue jarang ketemu Panna, karena dia kerja shift pagi.
- Cory: cowok bule tinggi kurus ini kelihatannya cuek di permukaan, tetapi dia sebetulnya orang yang baik. Dan pinternya setengah mati. Setiap kali gue punya masalah teknikal di IMC, gue nanya dia, dan dia pasti bisa menolong dan mengajari gue bagaimana untuk memecahkan masalah itu. Gue harus terima kasih banyak sama Cory karena dia selalu gak segan2x untuk membantu gue dalam pekerjaan IMC yang rada2x sulit awalnya.
- Lenny: cowok ini kalo ngomong agak2x menggumam, jadi kadang gue nggak denger dia ngomong apa. Hobinya denger musik heavy metal, dimana gue agak2x takjub. Cowok pendiam kayak gini penggemar berat musik metalika? Tapi beneran deh, itu kenyataannya. Lenny ini pintar, cepat mencari jalan keluar, dan juga asik untuk diajak berteman. Yang gue demen tuh, kadang2x Lenny bawa snack2 dari perusahaan pacarnya (pacarnya kerja di Frito Lay, or something like that). Yayyyy!
- Brookes : cewek ini demen nonton film2x Korea, dan doi menyarankan gue juga ikutan nonton lewat viki.com. Dia suka mewarnai rambutnya dengan berbagai macam warna : ungu, hijau, biru, hehehe. Seneng juga ngeliatnya. Doi juga termasuk wanita dominan yang kalo bicara tuh to the point.
- Betty : dulunya gue dan Betty deket banget di Ops Desk. Yah, secara cubicle kita dulu sebelahan. Tapi sejak pindah ke IMC, dan karena jadwal kerja kita berlainan, gue nggak gitu deket lagi. Gue kerja malem, dia kerja pagi. Dia masuk kerja saat gue libur. Tapi gue masih sayang sama Betty karena gue banyak sekali belajar dari pengalaman Betty yang sangat kaya akan suka duka kehidupan. Dan nantinya, Betty ini yang jadi salah satu penasihat gue waktu kita akan menghadapi lay off dari perusahaan ini. Nasihat beliau adalah supaya gue tidak menyerah begitu saja dalam mencari pekerjaan baru. Singkatnya, semuanya gue uraikan di blogpost Living The Dream (work).
- Shannon : cowok botak yang humoris ini selalu bikin kita ketawa. Dia juga pintar, kadang2x suka ngasih gue pertanyaan2x matematika, keuangan, atau soal2x kehidupan. Gue dan Shannon paling suka ngebahas finance, yang bikin orang2x lain suka tutup kuping, hahahaha. Soalnya kita kalo udah ngobrol bisa lupa waktu dan lupa orang lain sih! Saking serunya!
- Kim : boss gue yang satu ini punya etika kerja yang luar biasa bagus. Juga terhadap keluarganya. Salut dan angkat topi deh untuk beliau! Kim ini orangnya tenang dalam menghadapi segala sesuatu. Tidak mudah panik. Kim juga bijaksana. Kalo kita ada problem apa gitu, dia bisa dengan kalemnya menyarankan jalan keluar yang logis dan mudah dipahami. Dan mudah diterima. Gue banyak belajar dari Kim. Juga, beliau selalu mengutamakan kesehatan dan gaya hidup sehat. Tiap hari kalo lunch doi sukanya bawa salad dari rumah (salah satu habit yang gue tiru sampe skarang).
- Mary : cewek keturunan Asia yang kecil mungil ini pintarnya setengah mati. Mungkin mendekati taraf2x jenius kali. Mary bisa dengan jeli melihat satu masalah dan membuat jalan keluarnya di waktu yang bersamaan. Ibu beranak tiga ini (eh, nantinya empat, denger2x doi baru lahiran anak perempuan), suka main sepeda bersama anak2 lelakinya. Mary ini mandiri, tapi hatinya baik sekali. Kadang2 dia juga suka melempar lelucon kering (dry humor) yang bikin orang ketawa.
- Dan : boss gue dulu di Ops Desk, yang akhirnya gabung di IMC dan jadi boss gue. Dan ini orangnya sederhana, bajunya biasanya kotak2x, dan pintar dalam hal komunikasi. Dia selalu menasihati gue untuk bicara to the point, effective and efficient communication, intinya yang penting2x saja, dan sajikan dalam bentuk point2x. Dia juga rendah hati dan mau belajar banyak dari orang2 di sekitarnya. Yang gue suka dari Dan itu, adalah sikapnya yang gigih dalam menghadapi kehidupan, dan juga sifat kebapakannya terhadap keluarganya. Pernah sekali waktu gue ulang tahun, Dan dengan sengaja memberi gue surprise! Jadi ceritanya ultah gue kan mau dirayain di kantor dengan teman2 IMC, dengan acara potong kue, ... eh tau2x si Lloyd (suami gue tercinta) masuk ke ruangan IMC dan bergabung dengan gue! Ini pasti idenya si Dan, dan beneran it was! Thank you Dan, you've made my day!

Dari masa2x kerja gue di IMC, gue juga jadi punya kenalan banyak dengan departemen2 lain, manajer2 di kota2x yang berbeda2x, bahkan beberapa teman baru dari Alabang, Filipina. Banyak wawasan, banyak masukan. Network yang sangat luas. Seolah-olah dunia baru terbuka untuk gua.

Sayangnya, pada bulan Juli 2015, ada pengumuman penting yang akhirnya merubah hidup gue secara drastis. Kantor kami di Tigard akan di-layoff dari kantor pusat di Virginia.  Bukan salah siapa2x sih, ini keputusan bisnis dari pihak korporat. Waktu gue mendengar pengumuman itu, darah seolah2 hilang dari muka gua! Yang gue pikirkan cuma satu: bagaimana gue bisa bayar hipotek rumah, dan tagihan2 hidup lainnya? Tanggal terakhir kami akan bekerja di sana adalah 11 Desember 2015.

Tetapi perusahaan ini adalah perusahaan yang baik. Dari bulan Juli sampai Desember, mereka mengadakan kelas2x khusus untuk membantu kita dalam usaha kita mencari kerjaan baru. Membuat resume, bagaimana menghadapi wawancara, ilmu negosiasi, dan lain lain. Gue sangat bersyukur dengan kesempatan ini, karena gue jadi belajar banyak dari kelas2 itu.

Dan akhirnya, beberapa hari sebelum tanggal 11 Desember 2015, gue mengembalikan laptop gue dan akses2x lainnya. Dan finally say goodbye untuk perusahaan dimana gue sudah bekerja selama sembilan tahun (6 tahun HSBC, 3 tahun Capital One). Kenapa gue bilang sembilan tahun? Karena gue gak pernah pindah2x ke perusahaan lain. Capital One membeli salah satu divisi HSBC dimana gue dulu bekerja di dalamnya.

Gue sangat berterima kasih kepada semua orang di HSBC dan Capital One yang banyak berperan membentuk gua sampai sekarang. Dan lucunya, pada hari yang sama, tanggal 11 Desember 2015, adalah hari dimana gue menerima telpon dari perusahaan berikut (berarti blognya masih to be continued nih!), menyatakan bahwa gue diterima kerja di sana dan akhirnya gue bergabung bekerja bersama mereka, yaitu Bank of America.

Satu pintu ditutup, dan pintu baru terbuka.

Life is like a book. One chapter ended, and a new one begins.

Get Happy

I love shopping. Even if it's just for a soap. One of my favorite store is Bath and Body Works, and I always like their selections of hand soaps, shower gels, hand sanitizers, body lotions, etc. I usually get different kind of scents in one shopping trips, so this way we can alternate the soap, depends on our mood. What I have now in our shower is the "Get Happy" shower gel.

At first, I thought it was a grammatical error. I thought it's supposed to be "Be Happy". But the more I'm thinking about it, the more I realized that it is actually meant for us to "Get Happiness". To "Get Happy". Is happiness something that we should get? That we should pursue everyday?

I believe the answer is yes. We should always strive to "get happy". There will be a lot of things in life that will keep us distracted from the path of happiness. There will be some events that keep us off track. But no matter what, we should try to master happiness. There will be time later on to be sad. To grieve. But in the meantime, why not try to be happy?

In one of my blog post, Don't Worry Be Happy, it was outlined that to be happy is to be content. If in every single moment of your life, if you always happy, you'll lead a happy life. And a happy life is a great life!

Today, I wish you to be happy. If not, then get it! Get Happy! :)

WorkPlace: Capital One (Ops Desk)

Tanggal 24 September 2012 adalah hari yang cukup bersejarah bagi gue. Termasuk salah satu hari yang paling bikin gua bahagia, dech! Gimana tidak? Setelah 6 tahun kerja sebagai kolektor di HSBC (departemen HSBC kartu kredit dibeli oleh Capital One, jadilah gue karyawan Capital One) akhirnya gue dapet kerjaan baru sebagai Ops Desk Analyst di departemen Fraud Detection-nya Capital One!

Sebelumnya, gue diwawancara oleh Bu Lisa (Head departement Fraud Recovery dari kota Salinas, California), dan Pak John (Bosnya Bu Lisa, Kepala bagian Fraud seluruhnya : ya termasuk Detection, Prevention, dan Recovery). Beruntung banget bisa diwawancara oleh Pak John, karena beliau adalah salah satu penggede pengambil keputusan untuk hire gue atau tidak! Wow!

Wawancara kedua: dengan my future boss, yaitu Bu Irene. Irene ini orangnya kecil kecil cabe rawit. Pandangannya tajam, bicaranya mantap dan tegas pula. Tapi kalo doi ketawa itu terbahak2x dari hati, sampai kita jadi pingin ikut2 ketawa juga, hehehe. Irene ini mengepalai bagian Ops Desk dan FACT/FARNA. Lokasi beliau di Salinas, California. Sedangkan nanti ini gue kerja untuk Ops Desk cabang Tigard, Oregon. 

Setelah gue lulus interview dan diterima kerja di bagian itu, gue bakalan dikirim training ke Salinas, California selama sepuluh hari (8-17 Oktober 2012). Wih, pas gue denger kabar itu, gue jingkrak2x kesenangan deh! Temen gue, Alex, sampe bilang,"You're lucky pants!!!" Yep, I am so lucky! :) Senyum lebar2x pas denger kabar itu. Tapi sebelumnya, gue ditraining di Tigard dulu sama salah satu anggota Ops Desk, namanya Elise. Elise dateng dari Salinas ke Tigard, dari tanggal 25 Sept - 5 Okt 2012 kalo gak salah.

Ada 2 orang yang diterima sebagai Ops Desk dari Collection: gue dan Amanda. Elise training kami berdua di Tigard, setelah itu gue dan Amanda pergi ke Salinas selama sepuluh hari. Wah, cihui banget deh! Ada cerita lucu sedikit pas hari keberangkatan pesawat di tanggal 8 Okt. Gue udah bangun super pagi hari. Tapi mungkin saking semangatnya, gak tau kenapa, gue tiba rada2x telat di airport. Nah, jadilah gue lari terbirit2x ke pesawat, dan jatuh duduk di kursi yang tersedia di Southwest Airlines (di pesawat ini duduknya bebas, gak ditentuin). Phew! Untung kaga ketinggalan pesawat...

Waktu gue di Salinas, gue ketemu rekan2 kerja gue yang berlokasi di cabang sana. Yaitu: Irene (the boss!), Juanita (asisten manajernya Irene - orangnya cantik, hitam manis gitu, punya anak 3 dan bersuamikan polisi), Debi (pintarnya setengah mati! yang ngurusin MIS reports), Lorena (doi nantinya pindah ke Tigard di bulan Mei 2013), Annie (doski juga nantinya pindah ke Tigard di bulan Oktober 2013), Toni (cewek satu ini cantik banget kayak model, dan baiknya setengah mati!!! Toni ini yang selalu mendukung gue dan selalu wish me sukses. Hebat deh pokoknya!), Elise (dimana nanti Elise akan pindah ke departemen lain sebagai trainer), Lori (dia ini asisten manajernya Irene untuk bidang FACT/FARNA).

Mereka ini gue juluki "fun fearless females" - soalnya kalo kerja bener2x kerja keras, tapi kalo have fun juga mantep abis! Irene baik sekali, doi bawa kita ke resto Beni Hana (resto fave dia dan gue!), terus pas hari terakhir (dimana bertepatan dengan hari ultah gue ke-34!), kita semua cuma kerja setengah hari, abis itu kita makan siang di PF Changs (yum! enak banget deh! udah gitu Irene pake acara kasih gue dome coklat kecil untuk dessert bday gue, yay.. thanks Irene!!), nonton film Perfect Pitch 1 di bioskop, lalu pergi jalan2x di Fisherman's Wharf yang terletak di kota Sacramento, California.

Selesai training, balik lah gue dan Amanda ke Tigard. Kita menempati lokasi kantor di building C. Kita juga kerja bareng2x departemen Fact, bersama Lori, Soila (pindahan dari Salinas), dan Susan (temen satu departement di Collections dulu!). Senang banget kerja di masa2x ini. Biasa, kerjaan baru. Di sini kita bertanggung jawab atas skedul pegawai2 yang bekerja di Fraud Detection, Fraud Recovery, dan Fraud Prevention (sebagian kecil, gak seluruhnya Prevention).  Dan kita mengkoordinir jadwal kerja untuk pegawai Tigard dan Salinas. Komunikasi lewat messenger/instant messaging. Dan tentunya juga lewat email. 

Sistemnya cukup canggih. Kita juga memantau telpon2xnya pegawai Fraud Detection dan Fraud Recovery. Artinya kita harus mengawasi dan memastikan mereka menerima telpon customer2x, dan sesuai dengan jadwal kerja mereka, dimana itu juga meliputi waktu makan siang dan waktu istirahatnya mereka. Pertama-tama cukup sulit, tapi setelah berbulan-bulan kemudian, gue "nangkep" maksudnya dan jadi terbiasa dengan sistem kerja Ops Desk. Lama2x, gue jadi suka deh!

Kadang2 Irene suka datang mengunjungi kantor cabang kami di Tigard. Dan kalo Irene dateng, kita semua pasti makan enak deh. Irene ini punya cara yang bagus untuk menikmati hidup! Dia selalu bilang,"Kita ini kerja serius, tapi ada have fun-nya juga, biar nggak stress." Gue sih setuju2x aja, hihihihi. Kadang2x kita semua makan di restoran Sanchez (masakan Meksiko, enak banget! Terutama menu yang namanya Sopes! Yum), pernah juga pergi river cruise di Portland, terus ke Multnomah Falls yang sejuk2x dingin, juga ke resto Beni Hana di Tigard. Pokoknya asik banget deh acara kumpul2nya!

Setelah setahun, akhirnya cabang di Salinas dibubarkan oleh kantor pusat. Jadinya tim gue hanya terdiri dari orang-orang yang hanya kerja di Tigard. Sedih deh. Soalnya temen2x Salinas tuh kompak banget, dan asik berat kalo diajak bergaul. Mereka membuat kerja gak jadi suntuk. Jadi ringan gituh. Dan terus terang aza, semenjak gue kerja di Ops Desk, gue jadi memperhatikan penampilan. Lah, mereka semua kayak model gitu penampilannya, hehehe, gue jadi ketularan dech. Ikut-ikutan fashion! 

Dari team Salinas, hanya 3 orang yang hijrah ke Tigard, Oregon: Lorena, Annie, dan Dion (anak baru dari Fraud Detection Salinas). Dion ini orangnya baik, lucu, dan mau belajar. Salut deh gue dengan semangatnya doi! Irene memutuskan untuk gak pindah ke Tigard, jadi dia lagi cari2x pengganti. Beberapa bulan kemudian, Irene akhirnya memutuskan untuk mempekerjakan Daniel, dimana Dan ini nantinya jadi boss gue di Ops Desk, dan juga jadi boss gue di episode berikut: WorkPlace: Capital One (IMC).

Tim Ops Desk Tigard sendiri juga berubah. Sekarang tim kita adalah: gue, Betty (wanita senior yang baik, rendah hati, pintar bergaul, dan crafty!), Li (serasa kayak adik gue sendiri deh! pintar pula, punya master degree segala lho!), Dion, Ben (cowok kece ini nantinya jadi manajernya Lloyd di Fraud Detection! orangnya baik dan punya kemampuan bicara yang bagus sekali! gue harus banyak belajar dari dia!), Bill (dulu dia ini adalah pimpinan Fraud cabang Filipina! Hebat ya~!), Lorena, Annie, dan tentunya Pak Dan yang ditraining langsung oleh Irene. Karena Juanita nggak ikutan pindah ke Tigard, akhirnya gue yang malah jadi diserahi tugas banyak untuk mengelola tim Ops Desk. Jadi bangga juga, itung2 jadi tangan kanan boss, hehehe.

Karena jadi "tangan kanan" boss, artinya gue juga harus mengatur jadwal kerja rekan2 kerja gue di Ops Desk. Ngatur jadwal kerja berarti termasuk audit liburan tahunan mereka, dan juga memastikan jadwal harian mereka juga terurus. Nah lho, tambah banyak deh kerjaannya. Tapi gak pah2x, gue dengan senang hati dan rela kok mengerjakannya. Itung2x tambah pengalaman. Terus juga ikutan rapat mingguan bersama manajer2x Fraud Detection seminggu sekali. Juga kadang2 ketemu sama manajer2x Fraud Prevention dan Fraud Recovery, untuk membahas ide2 baru untuk penerapan jadwal kerja dan audit liburan tahunan pegawai2x di departemen2x yang bersangkutan. Pokoknya keren abis deh! Seumur2x gue blum pernah punya pengalaman berharga kayak gini!!!

Karena prestasi gue yang cukup menyakinkan di Ops Desk, suatu hari Dan menawarkan gue posisi baru di departemen IMC (Integrated Mission Control), semacam Ops Desk juga tapi lebih dalam dan luas lagi jangkauannya. Kalo Ops Desk yang aku tangani sekarang hanya untuk departemen Fraud Tigard saja, IMC ini mencakup sekitar 8-10 departemen lain (seperti Care, Collections, Fraud, Disputes, dan yang lain2x), dan tidak hanya satu daerah saja, tapi berbagai macam kota seperti Las Vegas, Sioux Falls, bahkan sampai cabang2 di Alabang, Filipina, segala!! Hebat dech!

Setelah gua bicara dengan suami dan dipertimbangkan masak2x, akhirnya gue memutuskan untuk menerima tawaran Dan. Tapi gak semudah itu masuk IMC. Pertama2x gue harus diwawancara lagi. Harus dites lagi.  Untungnya gue lulus wawancara dan diterima!! Gue dan Betty resmi masuk IMC tanggal 17 Maret 2014. Nah, ceritanya yang ini bersambung di blog post berikutnya dech.  

Sebelum gue berpisah dengan Ops Desk, gue sempet kumpul2 lagi sama temen2 Ops Desk dan perpisahan main boling di Big Al's Bowling di kota Beaverton, Oregon.  Jadi sedih, tapi ya mau gimana lagi. Gue kan juga harus berkembang dengan pengalaman2x baru lagi.

Lucunya, nanti, beberapa bulan kemudian (setelah gue dan Betty settle di IMC), eeeh, boss Ops Desk gue Dan, nanti juga ikutan gabung jadi boss baru gue di IMC!!! Lucu ya! Dunia itu sempit! Hehehe.

Nah, begitulah cerita pengalaman gue sebagai Ops Desk di Capital One. Sangat berkesan dan gak mungkin dilupain begitu saja deh. Gue mau ngucapin terima kasih banyak untuk semua rekan2 kerja Ops Desk, dan juga rekan2 kerja di Fraud Detection, Prevention, Recovery, dan semuanya yang turut membantu gue dalam masa2x kerja paling menyenangkan di hidup gue!! :)

The Most Precious Commodity In The World

What is the most precious commodity in the world?

Is it money? Diamond? Oil? Elegant dinner in a Michelin award-winning restaurant?

According to Stirling Silliphant (from the book Zen in the Martial Arts, by Joe Hyams), TIME is the most precious commodities we have. Once passed, it's gone forever. Stirling, Joe, and Bruce Lee once had a conversation about time, and I found it interesting to see how they view time.

To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner.
To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly.

We all have time to spend or waste and it is our decision what to do with it.

Anyone who steals my time is stealing my life because they are taking my existence from me.

As I get older, I realize, time is the only thing I have left.

The choice  of how I spend my time is mine, and it is not dictated by social convention.

And the more I'm thinking about it, the more I find deeper meaning behind all this.

Don't waste time thinking people who don't care about you.
Spend time with people you love and love you back.

Don't waste time on petty projects that carries insignificant value in the future.
Spend time doing more important things.

Don't waste your time.
Spend your time doing things you enjoy.

Life unfolds on a great sheet called Time, and once finished it is gone forever. - Chinese adage.

Culinary Arts

This post is dedicated to all my friends and families who had helped me become a better cook. Thanks to you, now my family and I can eat better tasty meals! It's healthy for our bodies and wallet. I felt a need to write this post, because without them, I won't be able to cook like I am today. This post is also dedicated to my Mama Nancy, Oma Tjie, and Grandma Marilyn. You are my culinary teachers and I can't thank you enough!

1. Jacqueline Tan.
When I got married in 2005, I had no clue what I need to do in the kitchen. I was born and raised in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Jakarta is a big city with lots of restaurants, from simple food trucks and cafes to elegant dining style restaurants. My parents and I never have to worry to cook, because food was cheap and there are so many restaurants to try each day. So, when I moved to USA and become a new bride, I panicked. I asked my bff Jacqueline to share with me her recipes because Jacqueline is a pro in culinary arts and once worked as a chef in a prestigious hotel in Jakarta. She shared 2 recipes to me: Beef Stew, and Sweet and Sour Chicken. Thanks to Jacqueline, I have a bit confidence stepping into the kitchen.

2. Grefin Harsa.
I asked Grefin to teach me some basic simple recipes, that easy to apply for a novice like me. She shared with me her homemade gorgonzola sauce which I can apply for any dish. Thanks to Grefin I was able to experiments her sauces and incorporated that to various dishes! I wrote her sauce in a piece of paper, which I still have until now.

3. Ignatia Suwarna.
I really have to thank Ignatia for introducing me to Food Network. She recommended I watch Rachael Ray because her dishes are simple, easy, and good for beginner. I remember sitting down in front of TV in my small apartment and write down everything Rachael said when she made her demo in 30 minutes meals. I printed her recipes and follow it step by step. I can't imagine what my world will be without Food Network, so thank you Ignas for sharing this with me when I firstly got here in US!

4. My husband that I love so much, Lloyd Sanders.
This man is a wonderful audience and my number one critique. He'll be honest. If my meal doesn't deserve an 8 (aka a bad meal), he'll say it. He won't hesitate to let me know the quality of the dishes, which make me want to improve the next time I make the same dish. Good thing he's patient. It takes me 11 years to be where I am today (in the terms of culinary arts), so I can't imagine how deep his patience is to me! When we firstly got married, our first fight was how to cook a spaghetti. It's pretty funny actually. I insisted that the raw ground beef can be put into the cooked sauce right away, and he insisted that the ground beef must be browned first. Finally we call Grandma Marilyn and she advised the correct way to do it (which is Lloyd's way). I cried and almost gave up cooking, because I don't know how, but Lloyd shown me how easy it was. He said,"Just read the recipe, and start from step number 1, then step number 2, then step number 3." I applied what he said, and it works! It boosts my confidence in trying to cook again. He complimented me whenever I made the dish right. I am so thankful for his supports. And now he never have to worry whenever I make a spaghetti meal!

I also would like to thank my favorite chefs from TV:
1. Food Network: Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Sunny Anderson, Sandra Lee, Sara Moulton, Tyler Florence, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown, Ree Drummond, Trisha Yearwood, Alex Guarnaschelli, Nigella Lawson, Bobby Deen, Geoffrey Zakarian, Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Michael Symon, Jeff Mauro, Katie Lee, Melissa D'Arabian, Dave Lieberman, Robert Irvine, Aarti Sequeira.

2. Cooking Channel: Tia Mowry, Tiffany Amber-Thiessen, Roger Mooking, Chuck Hughes, Mo Rocca, Kelsey Nixon.

I'm still learning. I'm still cooking daily. Thanks to everyone who had helped me, now I love cooking in the kitchen! :)

Failures to Success

This is a true story of my Uncle Hardjo Hutamadjaja. This story is posted here in my blog with his permission.  Truly a GREAT motivational story. Thank you for sharing your life story with us, Om Hardjo!

***

30 years ago this month, I failed to pass my high school final test, it was devastated, I was frustrated and depressed, and not knowing what to do with my life thereafter, I feel so humiliated, and ashamed to all my friends and families.

In a desperation of my future career and hope, I decided to pursue different high school in a different country where language and culture differences that I must learned from scratch.

Day by day, I learned the hard way and realizing that time is very valuable, and every single moment is precious and shouldn't be wasted to something irrelevant in my career life.

By 1989 in Toronto, Canada. I graduated as Computer System Analyst with Dean's List Honor. I felt proud of myself in my graduation day and should paid-off where I failed last time.

So, I was ready to take my next step in my career life with full enthusiasm and new energy, seems easy right?, old mantra saying 'After graduate then should get a good job/business'. Well, not that easy as you think it should be. Read on.

I went back to my hometown in Surabaya with pride to set-up new business and implementing my knowledge that I've learned. Unfortunately, by 1991 I failed my business with tremendous amount of loss. Again, I felt even greater devastation and ashamed to my families, realizing that the world is not fair in my view.

I took a different approach to rebuilt my career in 1992 by immigrating myself back to Canada, at that time the country was in a recession, it was very difficult to find a job, I took what-ever job I could find with very low starting salary of $10/hour.

My first landed job wasn't in my field of study that I truly want it to be. Thus, I struggled for 18 months to change my career path into computer programming related field.

Finally, I found the first job as computer programmer with starting salary $12/hour, although the salary wasn't paid much, but I felt like a winning lottery, and knowing that there will be brighter side of my career life ahead of me.

Unfortunately, the job wasn't last long due to lack of contracts from other companies, and last only for a year, and I was part of the company laid-off. Feeling devastated and failure once again that haunted my feeling.

Within 3 months, I found another computer programming career with a higher starting salary $14/hour, once again I felt like a winning lottery in that moment, day by day I rebuilt my career with confident.

By 1998, I realize that there were far greater career advancement opportunity with even ten-fold higher paid job in the e-commerce arena for DOT COM boom in Silicon Valley, California, USA

I bravely took the next step to pursue that ambition as e-commerce internet programmer, my career life have just begun from that point. Here is why, during 4 years period from 1998 through 2002, I was employed by 4 different companies, and also was laid-off in 4 different times.

Yes, you heard that right, I was laid off 4 times within 4 years from 4 different companies, that is almost an average of once a year laid-off. Although, I was receiving very high top salary as an internet web programmer, but the roller coaster emotional feelings was unprecedented devastation of no future hope.

In 2003, I started my own small e-commerce internet company, I was excited when I got my first sales order. By 2009 I was swamped and overwhelmed with orders where I also had 5 full time employees with an average salary of $15/hour.

Today, many of you think that I may be even more successful as compare to 2009 level, and you may think that I may already have dozens of full-time employees by now. WRONG!.

Today, my company is downsizing since 2010 due to much greater competition with extreme saturation in the internet from other competitors with much higher capitalization, and I'm no longer ashamed to tell you this.

However, I've done the best I could do with my pride to manage my own company today, and even after 13 years in the business, today I'm still learning my own business, and keep trying and will eventually experiencing unexpected future errors.

Everyone must have his or her own interesting success and failed stories to tell and share, and I love to hear yours as well, but here is what I learn so far, and I'll be more than happy to share it with you;

Life is about choice where we want it to be, and is about how many times we are willing to try and never afraid of failing consequences, and eventually after so many trials and errors, at least we will achieve something.

We should never regret for our past mistakes and/or past experience in which we had no control as long as we did our best, take those past obstacles as our life path and learn new experience for a better future.

Perhaps you may think 'talk is easier than execution', well, you may say that, but it doesn't matter what you do and who you are, weather you're born in rich or in poor family, what matter most is do what you good at it, and path will follow you along the way.

30 years ago seems long, but if you already experience it like I do, that seems like yesterday, 30 years from now is no different, time will fly fast, so cherish every single moment from what-ever time you have left even in failing.

There is a god, the god is also living inside you peacefully no matter what religious you choose, so don't blame yourself, he doesn't live in the world because the world out-there is cruel, remember he lives in heaven, which is also live forever in your heart even after life.

Don't blame the world and your environment where you live, socio-economics of your family, and others that may hindered you from moving forward, take your own action for goods and no-one will hindered you from your own action, and the god will always bless you in every step of the way even in failing.

You may have heard this many times before about basic principles theory of nature, "rich get richer and poor get poorer". Well, if you really believe it, then this will be your faith and destiny, and worst it may discourage you even further from moving forward, else It may not be true if you really working towards your goal with your passion and dedication.

Remember, the world out-there is cruel, so protect yourselves from any kind of negativity that may affect you negatively, and as long as you still live in this world, then you have no other choice to learn from this world in a positive way to survive because the world keep changing, and nothing will last forever in this world.

Dear all my FB friends, stay healthy, live long happily and prosper.

What advice would you give your 21- year-old self?

Recently I came across a Youtube video: "What advice would you give your 21- year-old self?" In the video, I learn great advice and insights from strong women from different backgrounds and cultures. The message is simple, yet inspiring.

So I'm challenging myself. I'm thinking, what advice will I give to my younger self? 

1. Don't give up.
In my past I sometimes gave up. Maybe I lose interest, maybe I was lazy, or thought that "it's not for me". I quit learning how to ride a bicycle after I fell the first time (when I was 5). I quit my piano lessons when I was 17 because I was interested too much in my drama club at high school. Which is fine, because I don't bike anyway and I'm not earning a living by playing piano. But, one of my biggest mistakes in life, is that I gave up pursuing my dreams working as a banker when I moved from Indonesia to USA 11 years ago. I settled to work in any job, and everyday I was miserable. I was not happy. I keep imagining the glory days I had when I was a banker in Jakarta, and keep comparing my life here and then. So, when I was given a chance to find new work, this time I didn't give up easily. I focused on getting a job that I want and finally I got the dream job. A banker. And I couldn't be more happier.

2. Set a goal.
When I was in college (first year), I charted a road map of which classes I need to take each semester, if I want to finish my study in 3.5 years. I was dedicated to ensure I get my bachelor degree on time. I determined to not waste my parents's money and time, because they have invested too much in me. I don't want to disappoint them. Because I have a goal in line, I successfully finished my degree in 4 years and graduated cum laude. The goal helped me to focus on what I need to do to reach my destination. Yes, it took half a year later then what I predicted, but it's okay. The most important thing is that I finished the run and get to where I want to be. It's been a long time since I finished my school, but I still applied this principle in daily basis. If you ask me now, I still have goals. Whether it's a career goal, health goal, family goal, or even vacation goal! Having a goal is very important, because this way you don't just drift away in life and getting nowhere.

3. Don't stress/worry too much.
By nature, maybe because I'm a woman, I stress easily. But most of the times, these things that I'm worrying about, it's not really worth it. So now, when I stumble across a problem, I ask myself,"Will I carry this to my grave?". If the answer is no, then no need to sweat it. Adding a stress is not doing an ounce thing to solve the problem. Don't worry, be happy!

4. Take a break. Have fun.
In my generation, we have a saying,"work hard, play harder". Somehow I forgot this great quote after all these years. I was a workaholic, I think about my job long after I'm gone from the office, and I never stop obsessing things that I can improve at my job. So my wise husband gave me a valuable input,"Take a break, have fun", and then dragged me to the family room to watch "Star Trek". He knows I can't resist good movies. And the funny thing is, after taking a break, I feel refreshed, energized, and feel ready to tackle the next thing. Now, when I'm home, I'm home. I don't think about my work anymore, because I know work will always be there when I return.  And at work, I do take breaks seriously. I read books. Play games. Even it's only for 10 minutes. Taking a break is very healthy for working people, because after break, we are recharged and will be able to work more productively.

5. Always learn.
Learn what you want to improve. Learn for things that you don't understand but need to understand (e.g. personal finance, investment, how to cook salmon properly, etc). It's exciting to learn new things! It stimulates our brain, motivates our spirit, and peaking up our curiosity. Revisit old books to refresh your point of view. Learn from great people who shares their skills from internet, there's tons information there. You can learn from anything: books, TV, movies, internet, etc. You can learn from anybody: grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, spouses, children, nephews, nieces, neighbors, bosses, coworkers, customers, audiences, and so on. Never stop learning. Brush up your skills. Sharpen your axe.

6. Sleep 8 hours every night.
When I was 18, 34, and 35, I didn't sleep for 2-3 days straight in a row, and it caused serious mental damage to myself. I'm not going into details what happened (because I don't remember it anyway), but I learn the hard way that my body needs sleep 8 hours every single night. I underestimated the power of sleep, and boy, how I was wrong! Sleep is more important than anything else, including money! Sleep is even more important than just taking a break. Sleep heals and repair our heart and blood vessels. By loosing sleep, I increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. Now, if I want to live until 100, I need to start taking care of myself (eat healthy, exercise, eliminate stress, etc) and that's including sleep. Beside, sleep is considered to be sufficient to keep one looking young and beautiful!