Museum Kematian

Minggu, 21 Mei 2017

"Agapi" means "Love"

Hari ini kami nyekar ke makam Eyang di Tanah Kusir.

Macet.

Kenapa sih orang harus banget bela-belain nyekar sebelum puasa, termasuk nyokap gue ini?

Padahal nanti pas lebaran nyekar lagi.

Nggak ngerti.

Yah, namanya budaya, gimana lagi?

Tapi gue punya cara sendiri sih buat menikmati kunjungan rutin ke makam seperti ini.

Berkunjung ke makam itu bagaikan berkunjung ke museum. Iya, museum nisan.

Apa yang gue cari di sana?

Gue liatin tanggal-tanggal lahir mereka. Gue cari, mana yang umurnya paling panjang. Gue nggak pernah nyatet dan nggak pernah inget hasil pencarian gue dari tahun ke tahun. Tapi rekor gue hari ini, ketemu orang yang meninggal di usia 92 tahun. Seinget gue dulu pernah nemu yang meninggal usia 100 sekian tahun.

Terus gue juga selalu nyari makam tertua di sana.

Gue tau apa yang ada di pikiran lo. Kenapa gue nggak googling aja kapan TPU tanah kusir dibangun?

Gih googling. Paling lo nemu berita-berita tanah kusir kebanjiran. Tapi kalo ada yang nemu, please let me know. Sumpah gue penasaran nggak penting.

Berikutnya adalah, orang-orang yang meninggal di usia muda. Ada yang belum 40, belum 20, belum 10 tahun, bahkan ada yang masih balita, bahkan masih bayi.

Terus kadang-kadang gue suka nemu juga makam-makam yang berjajar dengan tanggal kematian yang sama. Berarti ada kejadian di hari itu, tragedi yang menewaskan mereka.

Nah, hari ini gue dan adek gue nggak sengaja nemu sederet nisan yang meninggalnya sama-sama muda, dan hampir barengan. Ada tiga orang, usianya 14, 12, sama 29. Terus kita baru nyadar, ternyata di nisan mereka ada tulisannya: Pahlawan Ampera. Nah, gue jadi penasaran tuh, ada kejadian apakah tahun segitu? Apakah Pahlawan Ampera itu?

Terus di bagian makam lain, gue nemu sederet nisan yang meninggalnya sama-sama tanggal 3 februari 1981. Dan ada benderanya, yang menandakan mereka itu pejuang. Ada apakah tahun segitu? Gue pun googling, dan malah nemu kasus pembajakan pesawat Woyla 1981.

Ya itulah kenapa gue bilang makam itu bagaikan museum. Ada pelajaran sejarah di sana.

Terus, sebelum akhirnya pulang, gue nemu makam yang bagus, rapi, dan ada quote-nya.

Gue jarang-jarang nemu makam kaya gitu. Jadi tadi gue foto.

Gue selalu mikir, gimana bumi nggak makin penuh kalo orang lebih banyak yang lahir daripada yang meninggal, udah gitu yang meninggal masih makan tempat juga. Jadi gue maunya kalo sudah saatnya nanti, gue sumbangin semua organ gue yang masih bagus, terus sisa jasad gue dikubur tanpa nisan sampe jasad gue ilang sepenuhnya, dan terserah di atas situ mau dibangun rumah, stadion, taman bermain, sekolah, pokoknya udah meninggal sih meninggal aja, jasad gue diapain juga gue udah nggak ngerasa apa-apa kan?

Tapi, hipokritnya gue sebagai manusia normal adalah, gue rasa kalo orangtua gue sendiri, gue pun akan memakamkan dengan 'layak', dengan makam indah, terawat, dan bisa gue kunjungi setiap saat. Bahkan mungkin akan gue desain sendiri nisan dan kata-katanya.

Yah, gitulah pemikiran-pemikiran yang sering muncul saat berkunjung ke makam. Salah satunya, jadi diingatkan kembali kalau suatu hari maut akan memisahkan gue dengan orang-orang yang gue sayang. Dan itu membuat gue lebih menghargai hidup dan waktu yang gue punya dengan mereka.

Farrokh Bulsara and Josephine March

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Farrokh 'Bulbul' Bulsara and Josephine 'Joey' March

Just like a concept that is made up after a randomly-created creation, these cuties have been Bulbul and Joey before they were Farrokh Bulsara and Josephine March.

*
Farrokh Bulsara:

When I adopted him, I wanted to name him with much cuter and better name. He is my first dog. I had always dreamt of naming my first dog something like.. okay I can't even remember what the cute names were.

But when I took Bulbul home, my dad insisted to call him Bulbul. So, Bulbul it is. I was disappointed in that name, but later on, I found that it could actually be from 'Farrokh Bulsara'.

Even though my favorite band is Led Zeppelin (and I still wish I could name my future dog Bonzo), I've always been a big fan of Farrokh Bulsara, or Freddie Mercury. I think, he's the best vocalist ever, the best performer ever, the best front man ever, and one of the most genius musicians ever! I mean.... come on! Those songs created and sung by him are just... f***ing insane!

Btw, I've always loved that name, Farrokh Bulsara. It sounds exotic. Even though I have never been sure if I wanted a kid, I've always wanted to name my son Farrokh Bulsara. That, or Salvatore, or Marius Pontmercy, or Karac Pendragon (no, they're not my passwords for any accounts).

So, yeah I started to secretly name my dog Farrokh Bulsara, and now I guess it's just not a secret anymore. Bulbul, or Farrokh Bulsara, always makes me emotional by any means, just like Freddie Mercury's songs.

*
Josephine March:

Since Joey was adopted from her former owner who has abandoned her, her name was given by her former owner. So, yeah, of course the complete name Josephine March came after.

Josephine March from 'Little Women', a character that is based on Louisa May Alcott herself.

Yes, I used to love that book before I became more of a Mario Puzo's fan. It's almost the same, except that Beth didn't die in an exploding car, and Jo didn't have to avenge Beth's death, and Jo didn't kill Amy for their rivalry. No one's gonna understand this joke because I guess no one is a fan of 'The Godfather' and 'Little Women' at the same time.

Anyway, just like Jo, my baby Joey is not as pretty as a female dog should be. She's boyish, stubborn, and hot-headed, but very intelligent and brave.

In 'Little Women', Josephine March is called 'Jo'. But, Josephine Potter in the 90's TV series 'Dawson's Creek' is also named from Josephine March, and she's called Joey instead of Jo. And she's also boyish, intelligent, and hot-headed just like Jo and my Joey.

And btw, I can always relate with Jo from 'Little Women' and Joey from 'Dawson's Creek' because they both love writing, and 'Dawson's Creek' Joey even loves to sketch too!

Keel’s Simple Diary: Day 3

Date: Thursday, February 09, 2017

Your day was (only choose one): ( ) lazy    (v) imaginative   ( ) good to go

Explain why:

This didn’t really start as a good day. But my day was a hell only for a few minutes, and then… the rest of the day was so peaceful.

So today I’m totally home alone. I mean, I have my dogs, but I’m the only human here. So I really enjoy today. I have the best me–time ever! So the day turned to be imaginative. I created things, even when I was in the bathroom taking shower. I made some raw sketches on the bathroom wall with black shampoo.

What else did I do today? I did my language learning, I made some sketches, I ate delicious food and enjoyed focusing on my food while eating. So many –gasm moment today.

Oh, and lately I’ve been reading some articles about prehistoric Europe. I started with the Palaeolithic Europe. It’s very interesting. I used to be so obsessed with the prehistoric human back in junior high. Then I was interested in so many other things. And now I’m back to my old obsession.

An essential thing you reject without reflection:

Hmm… very hard question to answer. I mean…, why would I reject essential thing? If I reject things, that means those things are not essential. That simple.

“Love is a wonderful thing and things are wonderful.”

Agree.

An army of:                                                                     A couple of:

Tennis balls                                                                     Trophies

Bottled water                                                                 Dry countries

Sad things                                                                        Great stories

Cool inventions                                                              Honorable mentions

New business                                                                 Accidental cruelties

Butter and soap                                                             Musicals and operas

Rude flies                                                                        Donuts

New evidence                                                                Nice old guys

Yeah, I don’t know what to do with the lists. Whatever. But, speaking of tennis balls, it reminds me that my brother needs some tennis balls. We do need it because he already bought a pair of rackets and we’ve been wanting to try to play tennis.

Prehistoric Diseases, Common Cause of Death, and Human Lifespan

Monday, February 6, 2017

I remember how fun it was, being alone at my room back in college, reading encyclopedia, jumping from one topic to another. I wasn’t really addicted to Google or anything on the internet. In fact, it was almost 2010 and I only used internet to send e-mail or looking for some images I needed for my homework.

But when I started to use social media, I became addicted to the internet and social media. And my blog, part of the social media, has always been all about me. It’s actually because I have many blogs for so many things. But then I’m too lazy to continue writing those blogs, and only post in this diary, so, of course almost everything here is about me. Yes, I’m still enjoying browsing for scientific, historic things, but I never write any of it on this blog.

I only keep the miscellaneous in my private notes in my computer. But now that my computer seems to be dying, I wanna start writing some notes here, just for back up, just in case.

Anyway, lately I’ve been reading some articles about the Lower and Upper Palaeolithic Europe, and suddenly these questions just popped out in my mind:

1. What is the most ancient disease in medical history?

2. What is the most common cause of prehistoric death?

3. How long is the lifespan of most prehistoric humans?

So I found some articles, and I’ll just write down all my conclusions from those articles. To read the complete articles, just check on the links.

First question, what is the most ancient disease in medical history? What about… top 10 most ancient diseases instead?

This is from one of my favorite sites: science.howstuffworks.com

10 Oldest Diseases in History:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/10-oldest-known-diseases.htm

Some archeologists have found some of the most ancient diseases by analyzing the bones, DNA, and whatever left from the prehistoric human remains. And here is the list of Top 10 Oldest Diseases in History:

10 > Cholera (dated 400 BCE, Greece and India)

Cholera can be found on the list of diseases catalogued by the Athenian physician Hippocrates in 400 BCE. Cholera itself has been existing far before Hippocrates. This disease originated in the Ganges River that happens to be one of the most ancient locations of human population density. Cholera lives in the world’s water sources.

9 > Typhoid Fever (430 to 426 BCE, Greece)

A great plague swept through the city-state of Athens, by the description from the historian Thucydides, has the same symptoms with Typhoid Fever.

“People in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head and the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath. When it fixed in the stomach, it upset it; and discharges of bile of every kind named by physicians ensued, accompanied by very great distress. If they passed this stage, and the disease descended further into the bowels, inducing a violent ulceration there accompanied by severe diarrhea, this brought on a weakness which was generally fatal.

The disease couldn't have come at a worse time. The plague contributed to Athens' eventual loss to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War and a long hiatus for democracy in world history.”

8 > Leprosy (dated 1550 BCE, Egypt)

The Egyptian "Ebers Papyrus," written in 1550 B.C.E., which recommends, "If you examine a large tumor of Khonsu in any part of a man and it is terrible and it has made many swellings. Something has appeared in it like that in which there is air ... Then you shall say concerning it: It is a swelling of Khonsu. You should not do anything against it" [source: Nunn].

And here’s the scariest part of Leprosy:

“While typhoid and cholera are fairly straightforward in their aggressive spread through water sources, leprosy relies on another dispersion strategy -- that of dormancy. People can carry the bacteria that cause leprosy for 20 years or more before showing symptoms, and during this time can spread the disease.”

7 > Smallpox (dated 1580 BCE, Egypt)

Generally, the goal of mummification is to preserve soft tissue. So, as you would expect, Egypt provides a treasure trove of information on ancient, soft tissue diseases.

The most ancient of these mummies was dated 1580 B.C.E., and the most recent was the mummy of Ramses V, who died in 1157 B.C.E.

Smallpox is one of history's greatest killers, responsible for 300 to 500 million deaths in the 20th century [source: Saint Louis University].

6 > Rabies (dated 2300 BCE, Babylon)

Rabies is ingenious: Not only does it infect a host, but it also hijacks the host's brain in a way that makes the host want to bite things. This is how rabies gets a ticket to ride. And it's been doing it since at least 2300 B.C.E., when it was described in the Eshuma Code of Babylon [source: Rupprecht et al.].

5 > Malaria (dated 2700 BCE, China)

Granted, that statistic extends the origin of the disease back in time past its first definite mention, which was in the Chinese "Nei Ching" ("The Canon of Medicine"), around the year 2700 B.C.E. [source: CDC].

The disease continues to infect 300 million people every year, killing 1 million of them [source: Shah].

The Wall Street Journal reports that malaria is responsible for half of all human deaths since the Stone Age [source: Shah].

4 > Pneumonia

Hippocrates wrote that fluid in the lungs should be called pneumonia if, "the fever be acute, and if there be pains on either side, or in both, and if expiration be if cough be present, and the sputa expectorated be of a blond or livid color" [source: Hippocrates]. But he also distinctly calls it a "disease of the ancients."

Where exactly does pneumonia place in this list of oldest known diseases? Because it's a soft tissue disease, the archaeological record isn't strong. But it's likely that various forms of pneumonia have been around as long as our lungs.

3 > Trachoma (8,000 BCE, Australia)

“Trachoma is a chronic infection of the upper eyelid that eventually results in the eyelid constricting and turning the eyelashes in toward the cornea. Over time, the rubbing of the constricted eyelid and especially the eyelash makes the patient go blind. This is what happened to Aetius, Paulus Aeginetus, Alexander, Trailaus, Horace and Cicero. And trachoma is described in Hippocrates and in the Egyptian Ebers papyrus [sources: Siniscal and Nunn].

But researchers make a compelling case for earlier trachoma found in a corner of the world little associated with early diseases: Australia. Aboriginal skeletons from 8000 B.C.E. show a common skull lesion around the eyes [source: Webb]. Scientists determined that these lesions were due to bone infection that had come from soft tissue infection. Though there are a few eye diseases that could fit this bill, the skeletons were found in the Australian region in which trachoma is most common today.”

2 > TBC (500,000 years ago, Turkey)

In 2008, a team of scientists from University College London excavated the submerged ancient city of Alit-Yam, off the coast of Israel. There, they found the buried remains of a mother and her child. Both skeletons showed bone lesions characteristic of tuberculosis [source: Lloyd]. DNA testing confirmed it: Tuberculosis is at least 9,000 years old.

While the Alit-Yam finding is the oldest confirmed case of TB, characteristic lesions have been found on bones found in Turkey, dated about 500,000 years ago [source: Lloyd].

1 > Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (as long as the history of human and animals cells)

“Mitochondria are small organelles found in nearly every cell in the human body. And they perform a function essential to human life, converting glucose from food to energy called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which cells can use.

But mitochondria carry their own genetic material -- separate from human DNA -- and these genes look a lot like those of bacteria. In other words, it's very likely that the mitochondria that we depend on for survival are the products of an ancient infection [source: Andersson et al.].

Whatever the infection, it predates animal life, let alone humans. So there's no use exploring the fossil record. Instead, researchers compared the genes of mitochondria to those of existing bacteria. The closest match was to bacteria of order Rickettsiales, many of which cause diseases -- including Rocky Mountain spotted fever [sources: Eremeeva and Dasch, Andersson et al.].

But remember, we're talking about a disease that existed before animal life. So the oldest disease isn't really Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever itself, but some unnamed proto-disease with genetic similarity.

Long, long ago bacteria invaded a cell. And because of this infection, we have life as we know it.

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Second question: what is the most common cause of prehistoric death?

So I’ve found this interesting journal in this link:

http://web.mit.edu/7.01x/7.013/documents/7.013Lect30.pdf

And they even happened to have the comparison between the prehistoric human and the present human. It’s a very interesting journal! You really should check!

Modern Humans and Disease, Highly Developed Countries:

- Life expectancy has increased from ~50 yrs in 1950 to 86 years in 2000. For the first time in history a mother knows that the loss of one of her children before maturity is an unlikely event.

- Main causes of death are non-communicable diseases (cancer, obesity, diabetes, hypertension).

- Food plentiful, sedentary lifestyle.

- Acute infections decline because of improved public health information, vaccines, medical treatments, and increased resistance to infection due to nourishment

Early Humans and Disease, domestication of plants and animals (~6000 years ago):

- Creation of first !urban" areas with large populations in continuous close contact. Increase in food supply and expansion of populations.

- Main causes of death were accidents, food shortage, predation, infectious disease, with increases in communicable diseases: TB, Measles, Smallpox, Leprosy, Polio

- Diet was different from that of hunter-gatherer, but still based mainly on unrefined plant foods.

- Non-communicable diseases (cancer, obesity, diabetes, hypertension) were rare to non-existent.

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And finally…, the last question: how long is the lifespan of most prehistoric humans?

I found this article with very amazing facts in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_medicine

So they have medicine, even before writing existed! Wow! This is really amazing!

And by the way, how long is the lifespan of prehistoric humans? Here’s what is written in the page:

“The life expectancy in prehistoric times was low, 25–40 years, with men living longer than women; archaeological evidence of women and babies found together suggests that many women would have died in childbirth, perhaps accounting for the lower life expectancy in women than men. Another possible explanation for the shorter life spans of prehistoric humans may be malnutrition; also, men as hunters may have sometimes received better food than the woman, who would consequently have been less resistant to disease.”

Wow! 25 to 40 years old!? Can you imagine? Humans lifespan used to be that short!

:

Here’s some other interesting links:

Timeline of Medicine and Medical Technology (from 3300 BC to present):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_medicine_and_medical_technology

History of Medicine:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_medicine

Lovely Sunday Morning

Sunday, February 5, 2017

I thank God for this wonderful day. Today was really beautiful. It wasn't raining in the morning. The sun didn't really appear, but at least it was still bright and not raining.

So I rode my bike to my favorite part of Bintaro. I always enjoy the peace in such solitude. I mean, yeah there were some people around me, but they were busy with their own business.

Riding a bike in a Sunday morning might not seem so special. But, come on! These days were always raining, especially in the morning.

But today, it was indeed special, because, when I was on the way home, I saw two big, beautiful snakes. Their owner was taking them to the small park not far from my house. He let me touch them and play with them. They were boa, one was black and brown, and the other was albino. Both were male. The brown and black one was sweet and very gentle, while the albino snake was more aggressive and brave. They really reminded me of my dogs.

I went home, and it was still pretty sunny. I went to have late breakfast, well, actually lunch, with my parents and sister, then we went home. I showered one of my dogs, washing my clothes, and then... Yeah finally it was raining. Right after I finished washing my clothes.

I never like rain. I've been always wondering how could a rain be considered a blessing by some. But today when the rain was over, I realized how beautiful the sunset was. And it was because of the rain and some clouds that are still there.

Ten Years Ago

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

I suddenly remembered this theory that says, "People must have changed in 10 years."

It's not the first time I was reminded to that theory. And everytime, I would think of myself 10 years ago. I would try to remember how I was, how things were.

Luckily, since 2006 to 2009, I have always written diary every single day, with every single detail. So, from 2016 to at least two years from now, I can really tell how I was ten years ago.

So I checked my diary entries from the early 2007. Yeah those sweet memories. I don't know why did it feel so sweet. Are most memories sweet or am I just lucky?

Anyway, have I changed? Well, I can't really tell. Yes, the details are all there. But really, I don't know if anything about me has changed at all. I was and still am a kid forced to grow up because of my age and body keep growing. I was and still am happy to be surrounded by my sister, my brother, my father, and even my mother. I was and still am easily amazed by the simplest thing there is. I overreact about everything, either in positive or negative way.

I'm still as misunderstood as me 10 years ago. That's why, like 10 years ago, I still prefer being alone, having conversations with myself, than having conversations with real people out there. I'm still as much as a loner I was 10 years ago.

So, what is it? Come on!

I'm wiser, I guess, I hope. Well, I'm not wise. Not yet. I wish I will become wise someday, somehow. But at least, today I feel somewhat wiser than I was 10 years ago.

Is there any certain age where people just stop growing up mentally?

Yeah I don't see/read/feel any different between me nowadays and who or what I was 10 years ago. Well, what I was and what I am luckily are different. I was a college student with lots of homeworks and deadlines, and now I'm a woman with career, income, and a bit more responsibility for myself and more other things, less deadlines tho'.

Well there you go! There have been some changes after all. Ten years ago, I was still living from my parents' money. That's why it was so easy for me to spend my money for useless things like snacks and charity. Lol, I'm kidding. No I'm not. Yeah, ever since I started to earn my own money, it started to be so difficult to give. Because I really feel how hard it is to earn some money.

Anyway, I just read the first 25 days of my 2007 diary, and most of it made me smile. Such sweet memories.

I didn't use to appreciate my luck of having my brother and sister. Not until I left home 13 years ago. Being away from everyone I love, I suddenly realized how much I love them and how lucky I am to have them. All of the first 25 days of my 2007 were marked by me as beautiful, happy days, and most of the times, it was because of my brother and sister.

My sister was about to graduate from high school and was looking for university, while my brother was looking for identity. My sister was with her now ex-boyfriend. I just realized something. We simply like each other's boyfriend/girlfriend when the boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't ruin our circle. We should always be able to hang out together. Because if I have to choose between spending time with my boyfriend or my siblings, I will always choose my siblings, 100% of the times! No, guys, I don't expect you to do the same. And even if I do, it's still not your obligation to fulfill my expectations.

Then there are some other memories too, from my 2007. I spent a lot of time with the three girls, my best friends till forever. One of my best friends has clearly changed, 180 degrees different, from 10 years ago. And every single day I miss the old her so much! Still respect the new her anyway.

And there was my legendary lecturer, the guru of indonesian graphic design. I was so sad when he passed away 3 years ago. His class was always interesting.

And there was also this class, Visual Language. I loved that class. In our first session, we were given a task to draw our favorite flower (bunga). And almost without thinking, I started to draw a money tree. It means 'interest' or here we call it 'bunga bank'. We always had to write the meanings or the concepts of our work. So here's what I wrote back then:

"Begitu mendengar kata bunga, yang muncul di pikiran saya pertama kali adalah bunga bank. Ini adalah bunga favorit saya."

When the lecturer read my description to the class, she and the class just couldn't stop laughing. I was happy because: a, I was being totally honest. I mean, come on! Who really loves any flower more than money? And b, I made everyone laugh. I always enjoy making people laugh.

My work got one of the highest grade. My drawing was really bad compared to anyone in the class, but at least I was different. As graphic designer students, we were all about being different and thinking outside the box. So, I kinda won, or felt like it.

And to enjoy making people laugh, that thing has never changed. Yeah, that's all I wanna say about my 10 years ago.

From food, to Alicia Vikander, to Bong Chandra, and to food again

Monday, January 23, 2017

Juicy caramel pop corn…

Salty pop corn with extra butter…

Pizza with extra cheese and lots of black olives on the topping

Rich, creamy chocolate milk shake with extra whip cream

Snickers, Pringles, chocolate ice cream with almonds… damn I’m so hungry.

I’m not actually hungry, I just ate, really. I just can’t stop thinking about food. I was watching a movie and it just felt wrong to watch a movie without any snacks. Well, the ideal movie night for me is sitting on a couch with one or more dogs on my lap, while eating pizza and drink some chocolate milk shake, then when I’m done finishing the pizza, I’ll continue with pop corn, the caramel first, then the salty one with extra butter, then the other snacks.

But how am I gonna enjoy all the food if dogs are all around me? They’ll want to have some of my food, then I wouldn’t be able to focus on my movie. Okay, no dogs. Just food and movie, that would be perfect.

I keep thinking of food! Like… all the time! Is that healthy?

Wait! OMG! I still have the hot chocolate from the seminar! Wait, was it chocolate or coffee? Please be chocolate! Okay, let me check!

Great! This is chocolate. And now I’m enjoying my cup of the most delicious hot chocolate ever. Seriously! How could this chocolate be so good!

I’ve been wanting to tell you about the seminar I attended on Saturday. Well, I’ll tell you on the next post.

Anyway, for the first ten or fifteen minutes of the movie I kept thinking of the snacks I should have had with the movie. But then I’m so drown to the movie.

I just watched ‘The Light between Oceans’, and boy that movie was… awesome!

I love it!

I haven’t seen the review before, but when I saw Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander on the cover of the DVD, I knew that the movie would be a good one, and I was right!

The story was very touching, and I love them so much! I fell in love with their characters. I also fell in love with their acting as always. As usual, when I’m so drown by a movie, I would google everything about it. So I googled all about the movie, and found out that Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender have been dating since the making of the movie, which is early in 2014.

D’oh! Where have I been? But, actually, yeah I kinda recall that I’ve heard that they were dating before. I just forgot. I wasn’t that into Michael Fassbender. Not as much as I love Alicia Vikander. That girl was amazing! That girl was the greatest young actress, so naturally beautiful, so adorable! I’ve been a fan ever since I saw her in ‘Ex-Machina’. She’s really talented and always great in all of her movies. And her movies are always great too! ‘Ex-Machina’, ‘Men from UNCLE’, ‘Testament of Youth’, ‘Danish Girl’, ‘The Light between Oceans’, you name it.

And she’s unbelievably gorgeous!! She’s on my Top 10 Most Beautiful Actresses list. Look at her teeth! So perfect, so white! And her skin! Oh My God! The most beautiful skin I’ve ever seen! And her big, dark eyes! Those eyes are super beautiful! Her body is far from perfect, at least by my taste. But it makes her even more adorable.

Btw, when I went downstairs to get the hot water for my chocolate, I found chocolate flavored Energen Cereal. So, after I finished my hot chocolate, now I’m busy chewing on the Energen Cereal powder. One of my favorite snacks!

Hey, you know what? I’m gonna tell you about the seminar now, not in the next post as I said earlier.

So, on Saturday I went to a great seminar. Really! That seminar was awesome! I usually fall asleep in a seminar. Correction: I ALWAYS fall asleep in every seminar I ever attend. Every single one of them.

But I didn’t sleep on Saturday’s seminar. It was too inspiring! I didn’t even feel sleepy at all. The main speaker was the most successful young motivator in Indonesia, Mr. Bong Chandra. And then there were three other great speakers: Mr. Kevin Osmond, Ms. Grace Natalie, and… for me, the most inspiring one, Mr. Leonard Theosabrata!

They all have given me a whole lot new ideas, perspectives, thoughts, and of course, information and knowledge. But for me, personally, I was so amazed with Leonard, because it was the very first time I saw a speaker speaks so bluntly. I’m so in love! No, not that way. I know he’s married. I mean, I know you know what I mean.

He said he hardly ever read a book. He said he only read like… five books or something, for his entire life! And he said he never bother to pretend to be someone he’s not. He doesn’t care about branding. He is just whoever he is. I fell in love with him with every word he said. Seriously.

I just didn’t know a successful business man could be that casual. He’s really casual, not only the way he dressed that day, but the way he talks, the way he thinks. I feel like he’s the only seminar speaker I can relate to. He’s so casual, simple, funny, charming, yet bold, brave, and somewhat genius.

Among all the great things and ideas he said in the seminar, I just can’t stop thinking about what he said about the ‘Mindfulness’.

“Mindfulness is the art of conscious living. You didn’t have to be a Buddhist or a yogi to practice it. Waking up and seeing things as they are. A practical way to be more in touch with the fullness of your being through a systematic process of self-observation, self-inquiry, and mindful action. Mindfulness practice is gentle, appreciative, and nurturing, heartfulness.” That’s what was written on his slides.

Mindfulness. Yeah, so I’ve heard. I knew. But it was so hard to do. For me, to be conscious is difficult. To be in touch, to be heartful, to be focus on something is one of the most difficult things to do. Some said I might have an ADD. And I think it is probably true. I mean…, just read my blog! Read my entries. Read how I always jump from one thing to another. That’s how easily my focus moves.

That has been an issue for me. I can’t keep focus on my conversation with people. I can't even focus while kissing. But that doesn't really matter. Anyway, I just can’t keep focus on the present. My mind is (almost) always everywhere but at the present moment.

I’m trying to practice mindfulness in everything I do in my everyday life. But I do have some things that I can do with mindfulness, like:

1.      Mathematics, pattern, and anagram

2.      Drawing, making sketch, making artwork

3.      Destroying things

4.      Playing games

5.      Eating

Yes, eating. I can stop all the activities and thought when I eat. I’ll focus on my food, enjoying every bite, smelling it, taste it, feeling the texture while I chew it, the sound of it. Sometimes the taste of a food can even make me dance. Taste is like a music. I can say I have a pretty special relationship with food.

That’s why I actually really hate it when people talk to me during meal time. I hate talking while eating. But sometimes I just have to.

Okay, I’ll tell you more inspiring things about the seminar when I got the time. See you later! Ciao!