Dilarang Natalan!

Wah, judulnya terlihat provokatif sekali ya. Haha. Menjelang Natal, diskusi tahunan mengenai boleh tidaknya umat muslim mengucapkan Selamat Natal kepada umat Nasrani kembali panas diperbincangkan. Selama ini saya kerap menghindari debat kusir mengenai agama karena ujung-ujungnya pasti panas, mengesampingkan logika, dan asal ngotot.  Tipis sekali perbedaan antara orang yang benar-benar tahu dengan mereka yang sok tahu. Tapi pada akhirnya saya gatel juga pengen menulis opini saya terkait isu ini.

Saya kurang paham dasar yang digunakan oleh sejumlah ulama untuk melarang umatnya menyampaikan simpati kepada mereka yang merayakan Natal. Apakah mereka menganggap bahwa ucapan Selamat Natal sama dengan kristenisasi umat muslim?

Duh, logika seperti itu perlu ditelaah lagi. Kalau memang memberi selamat membuat seseorang menjadi sama dengan yang diberi ucapan selamat, maka tindakan sederhana ini dapat dengan mudah mengubah jati diri kita. Saya ambil contoh ya.

Kalau saya datang ke pesta nikahan temen, terus ngasih ucapan selamat atas pernikahannya, apa saya otomatis jadi pengantin juga? Padahal pacar saja ga punyaaa... *malah curcol*.

Kalau bisa gitu, saya mau tur ke acara wisuda S2 berbagai jurusan, kasih ucapan selamat, dan taarraaaa... saya punya koleksi titel S2 tanpa perlu ambil kuliah master.

Ah, seandainya dunia sesimpel itu ya... :))

Saya pikir tidak perlulah kita terlalu sensitif dengan isu-isu keagamaan. Jangan merasa insecure terhadap mereka yang bukan kelompok kita. Sebenarnya kitab yang dijadikan pegangan agama-agama samawi kan turunan dari kitab Taurat. Umat Yahudi, Nasrani, dan Muslim mengenal nabi-nabi yang sama, seperti Adam, Musa, Nuh, Abraham/Ibrahim, dan seterusnya. Nah, karena kita menyembah Tuhan yang sama seperti yang disembah nabi-nabi itu, maka sesungguhnya umat Abrahamic menyembah satu Tuhan saja. Tuhan Yang Maha Esa. Mengatakan bahwa Tuhan tiap agama itu berbeda sama artinya dengan mendeklarasikan diri sebagai polytheist.

Umat beragama, menurut saya, ibarat murid-murid yang sedang mengerjakan soal ujian. Kita bisa saja mendiskusikan cara kita masing-masing. Langkah penyelesaian untuk soal yang sama bisa saja berlainan, karena kita belajar dari buku yang berbeda dengan tentor yang beragam cara penyampaiannya. Namun pihak yang pada akhirnya berhak memberi nilai adalah penyelenggara ujian, dalam hal ini Tuhan sendiri.

Kenapa tiap agama berebut mengklaim bahwa dirinya yang paling mengenal Tuhan?

Bukankah Natal adalah peringatan kelahiran Isa Al Masih? Al-Quran juga mengenal Nabi Isa dan keajaiban-keajaiban yang dibuat-Nya. Mengapa umat yang memperingati kelahiran Nabi Isa diperlakukan layaknya penderita kusta? Tidakkah umat muslim turut bahagia seorang nabi pernah lahir di antara manusia?

Maka sebelum menghujat agama lain, seseorang harus memahami dengan sungguh isi kitabnya. Jangan-jangan bukannya membela agama, justru menentang ajaran agamanya sendiri.
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Vision of Social Empowerment

Today I had an interesting convo with some coworkers in which we share stories and dreams. Firstly, we discussed about Development Expo that will be held next week in commemoration of Indonesia's Independence Day. Our institution are invited to display some products made by CCT members. Then the topic branched out to common mission: social business.

We plan to found some sustainable programs for future, e.g. cooperative union, affordable grocery store, group entrepreneurship, etc. Whoa.. I can't believe how similar our thoughts are. It's like finding a highway to make my dreams come true. They mostly have much more experience in society empowerment, so it's inspiring to have them as friends.

Lately I think my job is like Narnia that God wanted me to find. It looks plain from outside but it’s full of wonders once you get inside. It’s such a blessing to get an opportunity to learn in real life classes: how to deal with bureaucracy, how to build a working system, how to do office administration, and more importantly, how to embrace people & mobilize them. It feels good to talk with people about idea, to share information, and suddenly the topic about my own self is much less interesting. I lose a big part of selfishness and earn bigger portion of selflessness. But, loving people helps me to love myself more.

Yes, here I discover priceless treasure: PEOPLE. One person gives you at least one lesson. So, knowing hundreds of them gives you uncountable. People are potential assets once we figure out how to empower them.
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Gaza

Saya rasa Israel adalah salah satu negara yang paling sering disalahpahami. Saya termasuk salah seorang pembenci Israel hampir seumur hidup saya. Bagaimana tidak, semua media menempatkan Israel di posisi antagonis ketika sebenarnya yang dilakukannya adalah membela diri. Selama ini saya tumbuh dengan mempercayai bahwa Israel merupakan sumber kekacauan dunia. Namun, belakangan ini saya berusaha menengok dari perspektif lain.

Bangsa Yahudi berkumpul di tanah Palestina karena tragedi Holocaust. Terlepas dari kekejaman Nazi, negara Israel berdiri. Hanya dalam hitungan hari, banyak negara berkonspirasi untuk menyerang bayi yang baru lahir tersebut, termasuk di antaranya Mesir dan Syria.

Kini Mesir telah menandatangani perjanjian damai, bahkan menjalin kerja sama bilateral dengan Israel. Lihat, Israel bukanlah negara yang tidak bisa diajak berunding. Konon konflik Gaza sengaja dipelihara oleh pihak tertentu demi melanggengkan kepentingannya.

Selama ini Israel mengarahkan serangan terbatas ke markas Hamas, namun Hamas meluncurkan roket ke kawasan padat penduduk Israel. Mengenai korban yang tewas dari pihak Palestina, Hamas-lah yang tidak mengijinkan warga sipil untuk mengungsi. Apakah orang-orang ini sengaja dijadikan tameng hidup untuk menarik simpati dunia?


Orang-orang berteriak "selamatkan Al-Aqsa" dari cengkeraman Israel. Padahal Iron Dome milik Israel-lah yang melindungi Al Aqsa dari serangan roket Hamas. Saya hanya berharap pemberitaan di media massa bisa lebih berimbang. Masing-masing kubu menderita, jadi jangan hanya mengekspose penderitaan salah satu pihak dan menyorot kekejaman pihak lain.  

Ingatlah, konflik Gaza bukan konflik agama, melainkan konflik politik dan kekuasaan. Jangan terlarut oleh fanatisme keagamaan hingga gagal melihat suatu permasalahan dari lensa yang jernih & tidak bias.


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Bride of The Century


Hongki is the main attraction of the drama to begin with. At least for us. He's playing as Choi Kang Ju, the first son of Taeyang Group. Hongki was supposed to play it cool but, sorry to say, we can't take him seriously. He just couldn't hide his comical image. Or is it just us?

From what we've seen so far, Bride of The Century is that of classical drama with all its basic ingredients within. It's so predictable that we can tell almost every step they're about to take. And with 99% accuracy at that. Since the first episode, you'll see that many parts of BoTC are comparable with  pre-existing drama:

- Chaebol (n. a tycoon a.k.a. that dream guy you need to protect the poor female lead in a drama) as the main character is something you can find in a thousand dramas before. Hana Yori Dango (and all its versions), Secret Garden, and What Happened in Bali to mention a few. Well, the crown prince of a business empire makes a perfect hero to every drama goers. But as we are accustomed to watch tall actor starring as chaebol, we had a hard time adjusting with Hongki's height when he's playing as one.

- The female lead is the type of pure girl who is innocent, bright, and good at cooking. We prefer someone more human, with grey side in her. Maybe it's because we have looked through the lense of Cheon Song Yi, Seungnyang, and Jang Hye Sung who got some badassery to show once in a while.

- The guy turned from icy cold to adorkable heartwarming once he faces his girl. Remind you of something similar? Yup. Full House, Secret Garden, Hana Yori Dango, Love Rain, etc.

They play safe by using te same recipe of high rating dramas. The female lead has done a good job in acting as two characters. Let's see how bright she will shine as an actress.
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Di Manakah Damai?

Pemberitaan belakangan ini diramaikan oleh beragam pertikaian.

Pertama, panasnya pilpres di Indonesia yang telah dimulai sejak masa kampanye. Masing-masing kubu saling melemparkan black campaign dan negative campaign terhadap seteru. Lebih mudah bagi masyarakat untuk "tidak memilih capres karena sisi negatifnya" ketimbang "memilih capres karena sisi positifnya". Memang sejak dulu berita-berita negatif lebih gampang dijual.

Suasana makin memanas ketika masing-masing kubu mengklaim sebagai presiden terpilih versi quick count. Lembaga-lembaga survei yang diharap dapat ikut mengawal proses demokrasi justru mengikis wibawa dan kredibilitas KPU sebagai lembaga resmi negara. 

Kedua, konflik Gaza yang menjadi perhatian internasional. Israel selalu digambarkan sebagai "the bad guy", sedangkan Palestina adalah korban tak berdosa. BBC yang menurunkan berita dengan perspektif lain dituding sebagai antek Yahudi. Padahal sahamnya sebagian besar dimiliki oleh orang Arab. 

Namun, di luar sana gambar-gambar anak kecil yang berlumuran darah telah ditebar di jejaring sosial untuk memicu rasa marah penduduk dunia. Simpatisan Palestina aktif mengajak yang lain untuk memboikot produk-produk yang ditengarai milik Yahudi. Mungkin mereka lupa bahwa banyak petani dan peternak lokal yang hidup dengan menyuplai raw material bagi pabrik-pabrik itu. Sungguh, saya menyesalkan banyaknya korban yang jatuh di Palestina. Oleh karena itu, saya berdoa supaya mereka dapat hidup berdampingan dalam damai. 

Dari kedua perseteruan di atas, saya tak ingin menunjuk pihak mana yang benar dan mana yang salah. Ketika saya mulai memihak, saya merasa ditegur oleh sebuah tulisan di Huffington Post.
"I wonder, what is the real purpose of your support? Why do you write letters and argue with friends and take to the streets? Do you actually care for the well-being of the people involved or do you simply wish to be on a team?
Your mix of high moral outrage and extreme self-centeredness is a special brand of hypocrisy."
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Thinking

My brain is a freakin’ mood swinger. At one time it’s hyperactive. The other times it just stops working. Now that it’s knocking my door non-stop, I feel like shutting it down. xp
But, sure as hell I will never do that, not in a million years. Thinking is a blessing, understanding makes human surpasses the other members of animal kingdom. New thought equals new challenge. But, fear not, my Dear Fellow, eventhough thinking makes you tired and hungry. 
You know Apple right? The one founded by Steve Jobs btw, not the one fallen before Isaac Newton. They create something novel. They don’t go with the market’s current demand, they construct some “new needs” instead. Their products are not following the universal standard but they sell their products so pricey that many people takes pride for having it. What seems “unusual” by society doesn’t always mean that it’s wrong.
When you get out from comfort zone, it’s conflict seeking action. But by doing so, people make progress.
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Condemn

I don’t always watch TV. But when I do, there’s always people fighting and upbraiding each other. Today I bumped into a scene where an ustad furiously damned a widow of his brother as blasphemer to ulama just because she’s against the renovation of her (ex)husband graveyard. Why do these people, whose voice are heard nation-wide, make such a haphazard speech? How can he quote scripture’s verses to justify his action and, even worse, to blame others? 
Please think wisely before you condemn others. You’re not Raqib & Atid who know exactly the good & bad deeds of human, are you? Unless your intention is to transfer pahala to the pertinent person, don’t easily judge others.
Don’t enjoy making people feel lowly, especially when it’s about something wherein there’s still much debate, e.g culture, religion, taste, and even money. People with revealing traditional dress are not always prostitutes, atheist are not the same as criminal, rockers don’t always love violence, and rich people aren’t always greedy.

Strangely, many people insult someone else but they still follow the update of the condemned person. If you think his life is unworthy, why must you keep an eye on him? If you think she's is wrong in almost everything, what makes you pay attention to every single move she makes? It's not useful for you, isn't it? It gives you nothing but torment, right? Otherwise, do you seek humor in others' foolishness? I think it's better to enjoy intellectual joke or maybe a little slapstick in comedy show and movie.
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Marriage

I've never been married so I don't know how it feels. I just have a decent hope about it. But again, I found cues that cause my fairytale image of marriage fallen apart and crushed to pieces.

In high school a friend of mine told me that marriage is just a formality. It's useful only to bear legal children. I thought it's an obscure thinking as a result of bad experience.

During college years, I met a girl who said that she would marry only to meet social expectation. It doesn't matter to live separately with her husband after that. She wants to raise a child in accordance to her idealism but she doesn't want anything to do with a husband. I thought it's because she never really fall in love.

But, some family movies/dramas, e.g. "Why Did I Get Married?", "Salaam Namaste", "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna", "Ohlala Spouses", etc. give me a real dark view about marriage. Love ends after the vow, or it may not end but divided with the other party, what if you meet your soulmate after you get married? Yea, the snowball keeps on spinning. There will be a lot more problems that turn marriage into some kind of trap.

We might argue that the filmmakers just dramatize the conflict. But how can we explain the divorces we see everyday in real life?

Just now a public figure bluntly talked in national television that the reason of his divorce was because of boredom. Well, he didn't exactly said the word "bored". He used some parables, i.e.:
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Etasia Tlatar




I visited Ekowisata Taman Air Tlatar yesterday. It is located in Kebonbimo Village - Boyolali, approximately 4 km northward from downtown. Tlatar for me is all about childhood memories. When I was a kid, I went there almost every weekend with my fam. At that time, my uncle officiated as Head of The Department of Fisheries in Boyolali and he was one of the founder of Tlatar itself. Hence, it’s easy for us to get in and out for free. We’re even allowed to go inside the fishpond owned by government, where not just anybody can enter. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, we swam with fish there while the elders were enjoying meal in a hut. Who cares if we smell fishy. :p
The water is so clear and it’s fun to jump from one pond to another. Different pond might contain different kinds of fish. The most precious fish is koi, no doubt. Though we swam freely but we never once brought any fish home. That would be considered as stealing, right?
I also remember my uncle let me feed giant fish in indoor ponds. We hand the food right into their mouth. The way their mouth twitched our hands was so tickling. But it wouldn't stop us to do so.
Yesterday I was amazed by how much Tlatar has changed. There's so much improvement, both in quality and quantity of facilities. Initially, Tlatar became famous for its artesian springs. Now, there are additional attractions that gives it extra points. Some of them are pakecehan (water playground), restaurants, fishing pond, swimming pool, fish spa, woodball venue,  entrepreneurship and outbond facilities, natural laboratory and hidrological garden, etc. You can go around the 7-ha-area on foot or you can choose to ride horse. Therefore you can enjoy the fresh view of the surrounding.
Interesting, isn't it? So, why don't you give it a try?
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Oh, My Small Town...

I just had an interesting conversation with my friend. She is now learning to build a business in an industrial city of  East Java. She came home few days ago and shared me this story.

She said that the citizens there have a great enthusiasm into entrepreneurship. Along the highway in the city, you can find many independent businesses. Even in small alleys there will be a lot more home industries. If there are people who works as an employees, there's a big chance that they are from outside the region.

She compares it with social circumstances in our small town. We lack the interest to found our own business. Civil servant is still being a favorite occupation. That's why our economy is going nowhere. My town is as dull as a dead city. There's nothing big here, this town sleeps at 9 pm. Well, thanks to the certification for educators which have enlivened this town a little bit. People can spend more money after receiving additional revenue from government.

Still, there is distinct mindset between citizen of that industrial city and this small town. People there wouldn't mind to pay more for quality and prestige. But, here people will choose the cheapest goods they can find. There will be a fierce barganing over what's look a little expensive until the price gets as low as it can get. So, how do you expect there will be a signifcant growth of entrepreneurship if the market is not prospective?


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Global Trend

The global economic trend is now changing. When a couple decades ago the economy was driven by America and Europe, now it's slowly shifting to Asian domination. While western contries is now struggling to get through a storm of crisis, many Asian countries is swinging through it and remaining stable. Indonesia is one of those countries, with inflation rate of 4,3% in 2012. Yes, our financial stability is good, but we can't be viewed as Asian top economic leader yet.

Japan, as we already know, has been the giant power of Asia, but now they're no longer a single player. There are emergance of new powers in Asia, such as China, South Korea, and India.

With the policy to keep their currency weak, China is able to import affordable goods worldwide. American lobby (or some might call it "pressure") to raise CNY currency has been disregarded by Chinese government. It's good to know that a country could stand up for its vision despite all the pressures from outside.

Yes, I think vision is an important key for the development of a country. We can see South Korea for instance. It has guideline for a long-term development. In order to stimulate industrial advancement, the government facilitates labor-intensive entrepreneurs to change their business into heavy industry, such as production of cars and electronic devices. As you can see now, Korean manufactures has become a rising star, leading the global market. This program has also created many new chaebol (business conglomerates) in Korea.

Hallyu is not one night project either. South Korea gradually sent their artists abroad to learn from the world's best art schools. These emissaries has come back to generate a Korean culture wave across the universe. A wonderful work from a small country who has been destroyed by Japanese invasion and civil war some decades ago. FYI, South Korea got their independence day in the same year as Indonesia and look at the large gap between us now.

Side by side with the other Asian powers, India shouldn't be underestimated. I read a lot about their fast growing technology development. The capital of Karataka state, Bangalore, ranks as one of India's most prosperous and progressive cities and pace-setter in software development and IT industry. Dubbed as the Silicon Valley of India, it is moving boldly into the 21st century, propelled by some of the best and brightest technological and scientific minds in the world. This city has attracted the Indian youth -- whose parents immigated from India to fulfill American dream long time before -- to get back to their ancestors' land and create startup business there. The government fully support their homecoming by providing lifetime visa. Therefore, these "agents of change" wouldn't have difficulty to stay in India.

It got me thinking of the same characteristics between Indonesia and India. We share some similar social problems: population density, corruption, and poverty. But, why can't we follow their improvement?

Well, I think the basic need should be met first. It is proper education! You know what, according to the Learning Curve from Pearson education firm, Indonesia ranked 40 in terms of education system. Thus, we are classified in group 5 (at least one standard deviation BELOW the mean). The two education superpowers - Finland and South Korea - are followed by three other high-performing Asian education system: Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. You can read the full interesting report here. There's also an inspiring article from Yudhistira ANM Massardi about the education in Indonesia compared to Finland and South Korea.

I see the importance of building this country as a whole. It's good that some people are devoted to serve in micro-sector to help people individually. But we need not only curative and corrective action per person, we need prior plan to prevent, maintain, and improve the quality of life in the broader range of society. We need people who understand the "big picture" and start to work from there.

I really hope that it started with policy making. We should have strong vision for our education and business development. We could use more entrepreneurs, especially in the field of IT and science. Indonesia is a very promising market, you know. We have high amount of population and there's also high amount of opportunity to fulfiil their needs. If smart citizens are not encouraged to build this country, but pushed aside by selfish interest instead, where would this nation come to? Its downfall, I suppose.
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YongSeo is Back!

"My hardened heart cannot be thrilled again
I believed so
But my heart pounds every time I see you"
-- Touch (Miss A)

Yep. Just when I thought that my goguma heart had stopped beating, an event occured to prove otherwise.
Yesterday (January 18, 2013) CNBLUE made their comeback with "I'm Sorry" on KBS Music Bank. Well, guess what? Of all artists there, SNSD's Seohyun and Yoona were chosen to interview CNBLUE. I spazzed hard. (Kind of shocking to me. I thought I've already jumped ship. And, as expected, YongSeo didn't even do anything worth spazzing for. But before I knew it, I squealed throughout this video.)

THE moment.
I guess everyone is also set to sail the JongYoon (Jonghyun-Yoona) ship. Keke.

That's the interview session. But wait, there's more.

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Self-control

We know all the good theories, but reality bites sometimes.

I think my duty in this world is doing good things within my control, and give the rest under His care. For example, when I do something good to people, I don't expect them to repay it with goodness. My concern is how I carry out good deeds, but their responses are up to them. I have no control over them. That will do the other way around. I can't control what people do to me, but I can control how I respond to them.

My id, ego, and super-ego are the ones I should control

I don't have intentions of blaming people. If I do, I must have been living in never ending anguish. I believe they must have their own reasons for doing things, I will never know until I dive deep into their stories -- which may take time. My biggest responsibilty is introspecting and moving on with my life.

My twinnie said last night, "People will be able to move on after they stop taking pity on themselves."

So much agree. Sometimes being strong is not about avenging, but letting go. 'N also there are times when being mature is not about winning an argument, but giving it in.

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The Sinkable Ships

Yes, folks. I also heard that rumor: It's a common knowledge among netizens that Jung Yonghwa and Park Shinhye are supposedly dating. And Yonghwa dislikes Seohyun for being too strict.
Well... what can I say?
*sigh*
You know how much I love YongSeo, right? But if the rumor turns out to be true, I'll be one against this pairing.

Lately I realized that I was wrong about myself. I used to say that I'm attached to couple fandoms more than any other fandoms. Now I realized, I have more attachment to female-celebrity fandoms. I love Seohyun more than I love YongSeo. I love Ha Ji Won more than I love Amazing Couple (Jiwon-Binnie).
Well, even the 'unsinkable' Titanic ended up in the depth of Atlantic Ocean. It's not impossible for my longest sailing ship to have the same fate. I've said goodbye to many sinking ships before. It hurts, of course. But time heals.
What remains is my love for the ladies...



I can ship Seohyun or Ha Ji Won with any other man as long as he's a good man and they're happy. I can ship Seohyun with Lee Joon (cause I heard good things about him, and his 'wife' cheated on him too, right?) or any other kind-hearted idol. I can even give her Joo Won oppa if she wants (I know it's random. But don't you think it's time for her to act in a drama? I hope her co-star will be Joo Won. It's gonna be interesting. Joo Won is like, the king of skinship -- and his co-stars said it's contagious. I wonder how he would handle our Seohyunie). And I can ship Ha Ji Won with Kang Dong Won, Jo In Sung, or even Lee Seung Gi. But I can't seem to accept alternate pairs for the boys. Yes, I'm just unfair like that.

Anyway, to Seohyun:
Seohyun-ah~~ You know right, how much this eonni loves you. You've grown up and become prettier by the day. Sometimes eonni even thinks that you're too hot to handle. If the YongShin rumor is true, Seohyun-ah, you deserve much better. Everyone knows you'll be a good housewife, so find yourself a good husband who deserves you. Fighting!

Bonus: A video of Seohyun being fabulous. She looks like she came from Pixie Hollow.

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Bridal Mask (Gaksital)

We decided to watch Gaksital because Ux had a crush on Joo Won, the male lead, since Baker King. You can read her review for Baker King here. She obviously took Joo Won's side who played as Goo Ma Jun there. She couldn't even blink nor breathe watching a scene wherein Joo Won was running so sexily to save Tak Goo. Thanks to Gaksital, she can watch Joo Won running, jumping, and climbing in each and every episode.
(^m^)

Fyi, there was a little friction between us before we watched Gaksital. Ux had to intensively persuade U9 to watch the drama due to her lack of interest in sageuk.
Ux: Let's watch Gaksital.
U9: No way. It's sageuk.
Ux: It is? It's not!
U9: But there's horse in it.
Ux: ... (-_-")
Well, eventually she gave in and agreed to watch with Ux. It's not that easy for us to find the drama, so U9 kind of grumbled, "What a struggle to watch something with horse in it". But as she's watching it, she turned into the biggest fan of Joo Won. 

Well, let's put our personal story aside and start to discuss Gaksital.

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Raising Children


Today is Indonesian Mother Day and it motivated me to write about the role of a mother. Anyhow, this post may never cover all things mothers do for her children. It's just a little thing that pops up my mind a lot recently: an enormous effort to raise children in their early age.

Have you seriously done babysitting for, let's just say, one full day?  I haven't. I meet a toddler almost everyday in my house but I only get a few hours to take care of her. Within the short span of time, this babysitting activities often exhaust me to death. Equipped-with-developmental-theories-me still feel lost when it comes to practical reality.

That's why when girls, who still whines all the time about her boyfriend or her busy schedule, say that they can't wait to have baby, I guess she never deals with a baby for real. Don't get me wrong, I like children and I want  to be a good mother. I just don't think that having children can be decided hastily. It's not enough to be ready, but you have to be strong physically, emotionally, and financially. It's not a vacation, it's a lifetime duty.

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The King 2 Hearts

Last but (absolutely) not least: The King 2 Hearts.

Through The King 2 Hearts, Ha Ji Won was able to reunite with PD Lee Jae Gyu. She worked with him before in Damo (2003), the project that introduced her to the world of action. If you remember, Ha Ji Won revisited Damo in one of Secret Garden episodes. About this particular scene in Secret Garden, Ha Ji Won said, "Re-encountering Chae-Ok after such a long time is both a thrilling and happy thing. Because Damo was a drama that was very important in bringing me to this point, Chae-Ok is especially dear to me. To be able to act as Chae-ok through Secret Garden brings back old memories."

Damo
Ha Ji Won's character, Chae Ok, is a Joseon-era policewoman

Secret Garden
Ra Im was holding a script entitled "Are You In Pain? So Am I."
As a matter of fact, that's one of the most famous lines from Damo.
HJW joked in Secret Garden DVD Commentary
that she was Ha Ji Won's stunt double. Haha.

Errr... why am I talking about Damo and Secret Garden here?
Okay. Back to The King 2 Hearts.


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Secret Garden

On to the next drama: Secret Garden.
What am I supposed to say about the frenzy that was Secret Garden? This drama created social phenomena in South Korea. It'll be hard to picture how big Secret Garden is, but I'll try.


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What Happened in Bali

My love for Ha Ji Won should've been legendary by now. Had I had enough money, I would've built Taj Mahal for her. Well, it's actually happening in my cyber world. This blog, along with my tumblr, twitter and facebook accounts are transforming into Ha Ji Won shrine. Don't stop me, people.

Today I'm going to talk about Ha Ji Won's dramas. Not all of them. To tell you the truth, I haven't watched her pre-Bali dramas, and sageuk is not exactly my kind of thing. So I will discuss 3 dramas, and 3 dramas only: What Happened in Bali, Secret Garden, and The King 2 Hearts (can you believe I haven't posted them already?)

Let's start with What Happened in Bali.


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Enlightenment

Tuhan mengirimkan malaikatnya dalam berbagai rupa. Mana kusangka kali ini Ia menyapa lewat bapak tua yang tak sengaja kutemui. Tiba-tiba saja ia telah duduk di sampingku, bercerita panjang lebar tentang banyak hal, dan memberi petuah yang paling kubutuhkan saat ini. Di tengah padang yang gersang, dialah satu-satunya oase hari itu.

Baru kusadari setelah ia berlalu, Tuhan telah menyentuh hatiku. Terima kasih atas penguatan dan penghiburan-Mu. Aku akan belajar membuka diri terhadap orang lain tanpa terlalu banyak prasangka. Hanya dengan hati yang murni aku mampu mendengar suara-Mu lewat sesamaku.
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