Teko kecil

Rasanya masih fresh di memory pernah sekali guru sekolah minggu nanya: "Kalau kalian dikasih kesempatan jadi benda atau binatang, kalian pengen jadi apa?" Waduhhh...pengen jadi apa yah?? Hmm... apa yah?? Gua masih ingat, waktu itu gw baru kelas 3 SD. Masih imut, masih culun, masih polos.. ehmm ehmm.. ;) Setelah berpikir sejenak, kita semua dikasih kesempatan menjawab dan kasih alasan kenapa kita pilih objek itu.

Masih inget banyak temen2 yg "pengen jadi burung.... soalnya bisa terbang bebas ke mana saja." Ada jg yg pengen jadi pohon yg tinggi, soalnya berasa kuat dan kokoh, bisa melihat dari atas. Waaa.. keren juga yah. Tapi waktu itu gw jawab, "Saya mau jadi teko."

Aneh banget deh rasanya kenapa anak umur 9 taon bisa pengen jadi teko. Kalo dipikir-pikir gw jg berasa lucu... Tapi jg pasti waktu itu ada image teko dan gelas2 kecil yg mengelilingi teko di bayangan gua. Menurut gw, jadi teko tuh berguna banget: bisa jadi alat tuang minuman2 segar dan nikmat. I guess that idea stuck with me until now..

Sekarang setiap kali gw ngajar di kelas, gw berasa lagi jadi teko yg lagi nuangin minuman ke gelas2 kecil: murid2 gw. Hihi.. what an interesting thought. Tapi pikir2 jadi teko harus selalu ada isinyaa... makanya harus selalu siap utk diisi agar bisa terus mengisi.

What about u?? What object do you want to be?

No pain, no gain!

hmm.. no pain, no gain! Kedengerannya cliche banget yah?

Well, hari senin yg lalu roommate gue, Khe Sin, perform solo piano recital buat Master's degree. It went extremely well.. but of course, musician ngga ada yg puas sama performance sendiri.. so when we asked, she said "I'm not happy with my performance!" (ditambah muka sok imut khas roommate gua ini). Well, no matter what she said, i still consider it a strong recital. No kidding; programnya gede and serem sebenernya: Makhlom's Jazz piece, Chopin's Ballade #1, Liebermann's Concerto (I), and one of Beethoven's harderst and most extensive "Waldstein" Sonata. Phewww....

Again... no pain, no gain...
Mau tau persiapan apa aza yg dia lakukan sebelon D-Day??
Basically it's in 3 folds:

1. Technical and musical preparation.
   
   Ampun deh roommate gw ini.. rajinnya bukan maen kalo dibandingkan sama gw.. hehehee.. maklum, sometimes i practice on "need base." Do i need it (for piano lesson, rehearsal, etc)? If i don't, why should i practice? hehehe.. bad student and bad philosphy. I really need to repent and change! Ok, back to my roommate. Sejak awal January dia udah practice mati2an. Biasaaa.. the pressure is on. Tiap hari count down melulu.. kalo udah stress pasti tanya "Pink, kenapa yah harinya makin dikit?" Idih, pertanyaan aneh.. namanya jg count down, mana mungkin tambah banyak sih?? Pokoknya practice abis2an.. sebulan terakhir practice intensive, pulang rata2 jam 2 pagi. Bayangkannn..!!
   
   
2. Physical preparation
   
   Namanya jg cewe.. kalo recital mesti pake dress.. biasa laaa... it will be more "revealing" than our usual outfit. Untuk menjamin indahnya "showing off some/a lot of skin" on the D-Day, perjuangan nggak kalah berat. Roommate gw ini sejak semester ini jadi rajin: rajin olah raga dan kalo bisa ngga makan atau makan dikittttttt aza. Namanya demi keindahan hari H nanti. Dimulailah ikutan kelas Yoga, Pilates, Step Salsa, Renang, dan Track. Phew.. seminggu bisa workout 5 hari, semua kelas diatas dikombinasi. Sekali lagi, semua atas nama hari H nanti.
   
   
3. The D-Day
   
   Believe it or not, apartment gw bener2 udah kayak ada pengantin yg siap dinikahkan. Sibuknyaaa itu lhoo.. Demi terjaminnya total presentasi waktu recital, diundanglah teman2 sesama artis ke rumah: Deasy Tan, the make-up artist; Imelda Yamin, the hair stylist. Pokoknya seru abis deh... Recital sih di mulai jam 8.15pm, tapi persiapan sudah dimulai sejak jam 3 sore! Aduh complicatednyaaa... Eitss, jangan salahhh.. hasilnya prima, man.. She looks gorgeous!

Seperti biasa, kalo lagi nonton recital orang hati kecil selalu berkata "Semua dapat giliran.. hari ini dia, laen hari gua." Yahh begitulah kira-kira. Recital itu bagaikan momok bagi sebagian orang. Tapi bagi sebagian lagi, "It's MY time to show people how well I play and no matter what, I'm just gonna share the music with all of them. Hope they enjoy it as much as I do." Of course, nothing comes for free!

My own 2nd doctorate chamber recital is coming soon (on April 29, 2006) tepatnya. I'll be playing with Michelle Williams, my lovely violinist. We'll be playing Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Copland, and Resphigi. Oh mann.. that Respighi Sonoata is killing me right now. Our hearing is in 2 weeks. Am i ready?? Not at all... *sigh*

I guess it's time for me to focus, focus, and focus. No doubt that I wanna have a dazzling recital at the end of April. May the cliche stir my heart constantly. Afterall, i still believe: No pain, no gain!

All things bright and beautiful

All things bright and beautiful

He has made everything beautiful in its time (Eccleciates 3:11)

Lyrics: Cecil F.H. Alexander Music: 17th cent English melody

All thing bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all

Each little flower that opens,
each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

The purple headed mountain,

the river running by,

the sunset in the morning,

that brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,

the pleasant summer sun,

the ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them,

and lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Do you believe in the strength of your prayer?

Dikisahkan ada seorang pengusaha yg berniat membangun dan membuka sebuah bar di suatu tempat yg berdekatan dengan sebuah gereja. Sewaktu jemaat gereja ini tahu tentang hal itu, para anggota dan penetua gereja berdoa untuk hal itu, memohon agar Tuhan menggagalkan pembangunan bar yg dianggap akan mengundang ketidakamanan kawasan di sekitar gereja. Ternyata berita ini sampai ke telinga sang pengusaha.

Sewaktu pembangunan bar ini sedang berjalan, tiba-tiba suatu hari terjadi hujan badai dengan sambaran petir dan guntur yg dasyat. Ternyata pembangunan bar ini harus dihentikan sebab petir menyambar bar yg sedang dibangun dan kerusakan yg terjadi pun cukup parah, alhasil pembangunan bar ini harus dihentikan.

Sang pengusaha yg mengetahui bahwa para anggota jemaat dengan rajin mendoakan kegagalan pembangunan bar ini pun menjadi yakin kalau jemaat2 gereja itulah yg menjadi penyebab utama musibah itu. Sang pengusaha pun akhirnya mencari seorang pengacara untuk menggugat gereja itu. Di lain pihak, pendeta dan jemaat gereja merasa musibah itu bukan kesalahan mereka, tapi bencana alam semata. Maka pihak gereja pun mengundang seorang pengacara untuk membela kasus ini.

Kasus ini pun berlanjut dengan argumen sengit dari kedua pihak. Setelah meniliti kasus ini dengan cermat, sang hakim menemukan sebuat kejanggalan dalam kasus ini dan ia pun akhirnya mengutarakan kejanggalan yg ia temukan:
"Kasus ini aneh sekali. Kenapa orang kristen tidak percaya bahwa ini sebenernya adalah hasil dari jawaban doa mereka, sedangkan si pengusaha yg bukan orang kristen ini percaya sepenuhnya kalau ini adalah jawaban doa orang2 kristen di gereja itu?"


We often pray fervently.. asking, requesting, demanding certain things from God. But sometimes we don't even believe in the strength of our own prayer. How useless would it be?
We often doubt God's ability to grant our requests; even when what we ask is granted, we still doubt whether it is 'just' a cosmic coincident.

Forgive us O Lord for being so faithless..
Remind us again that You are the Lord that listens to your children's prayer, and You will grant us what we pray for if it's indeed noble and according to Your will.

Honesty

Kejujuran itu seperti es krim. Kalau tidak dilahap bakalan cepat meleleh, hilang ditelan hawa panas. Bisep itu kan otot fisik; kejujuran itu otot mental, harus dilatih terus biar kuat."-- Andai Ia Tahu

"Honesty is like an ice cream. If you don't eat it fast it will melt, swollen by the hot air. Bicep is the physical muscle; honesty is the mental muscle, thus it needs to be trained so it can be strong."-- Andai Ia Tahu (Indonesian Movie)

Do you agree??

Think about such things

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.(Philippians 4:8)

What a priviledge!

Dear Lord:

What a priviledge You have given me to serve for the coming Good Friday sevice at church. It is truly a priviledge because You have given me the opportunity to be a Levite, the priviledged chosen one to lead Your people into Your presence. The idea itself puts me in awe of You.. I'm indeed very priviledged.

Lord, this is the very 1st time Pastor Scott Matten and I work together. I ask for your mercy and grace upon us as we lead the combined English, Chinese, and Korean congregation into your presence. Please annoint us with your Spirit that we will be empowered by the same Spirit. Give us the 'chemistry' so that we will be able to coordinate well so that everything will go smoothly during the service. Please prepare our hearts and minds as we approach to reflect on your cross, the cross that bears our sins.

May the music speak to your people.
May Your powerful words in the hymns remind us once again about the price that You' have to pay in order to buy us back into your arms.
May Your cross be real in our lives
May Your name be glorified..

Lord, I thank you for the gift of music for mankind. I lift up the priviledge to serve you this Friday in your merciful hands.

Count your blessings

I just come back from my wonderful spring break in Louisville, KY. I had great time with my boyfriend and i had the chance to make so many new friends there. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to be able to get away from Morgantown, to spend sometime away from it, to get a new environment, to be refreshed and renewed in spirit and strength. I acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from God and indeed, they all come from God.

I learn how to modify my way of eating instant noodles from my 3 new Korean friends (MiSun, Hannah, and Eunkyung) in the girl's dorm. I learn new Indian fusion dishes from the queen of the kitchen Ajeen Longchari. I learn to be carefree and easy-going from my new Japanese friend Maki-- aparently things will fall in the right place. I learn to be super patient from "Mr. Nice Guy" Nick Campbell. I also learn to be faithful, trustworthy, and to stay focus from Zion, my boyfriend.

Today is the 1st day of school after my wonderful spring break in Kentucky. I'm still kinda spring-break-sick right now. Hiksss... i miss my break. It's hard to get back to my original speed of life after spending a leisure-speed of life away from school. I'm tired.. and exhausted.. I need strength to finish this semester. Many tasks are pressing and waiting for me to be accomplished soon. Solo repertoire, chamber recital on May 5, "Into the Woods" musical production on April 12-16, jury accompanying, papers, presentations, and exams.

Lord, please give me strength! I need you every second of my days on earth. I can't do it by myself. I know that your grace is sufficient for me. Give me a heart that would surrender to you.. My Lord, my Creator. I lift up my worries, fears, anxieties, dreams, passion, and my future in your hand.

Teach me to remember that your blessing is NEW everyday, and remind me to count the blessings that i receive each day.

Thank you Lord.. and I shall count my blessings now.

Where is yours?

Overwhelmed with your daily activity??
That's what i feel right now. There's always so much to read, to study, to handle, to take care of, to nourish, to enhance, to create, to edit, to.. to.. to.. DO!

But how much can we handle? I dislike my monday schedule. I start my day early in the morning and end my day late at nite.. Things are always pressing and i need to be on top of it. Is there any break for me to breath?? Not really..

But somehow i survive.. even though i complain weekly about it, yet i survive. I thank God for His words powerful words: "... For my grace is sufficient for you, and my power is made perfect in your weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).

The show must go on. THAT is my source of strength. Where is yours??

Passanger of Life 

Passenger of Life

Life is a journey filled with mystery.
Who am I, what am I doing, why am I here, where am I going next? Do you have the answers to all those questions? If you do, could you comprehend all of the answers?

I'm Pinkcheer Tamio.. Just like you, another passenger of life in this world. What do you think of this world and your life?

Life has too much to teach, often beyond our comprehension. Let's share our endeavor together as we pursue this miraculous life.