January 2010
16 posts
“Taking my breath,
Building up the courage,
Knowing I’ll be okay.
Here...”
– upperzone on learning how to walk
“Access to whom?
Access to what?”
– upperzone on access to care
“After everything is said and done,
we are only left with reflection and...”
– upperzone on lesson from Burn’s Module.
“The sun has left my sky to bring light for yours.
To a clock, we’re hours...”
– upperzone on sunset
Recycling Life
Quick note between exams and papers.
I was reading an article about how consumerism shape the way we live. That today, we prefer ending than mending. We throw away old clothes instead of mending them like what our grandmothers would have done in their time. We throw away plastic, or use recyclable bags only for a few grocery rounds before we discard them when they’re out of fashion.
Do we...
Nietzsche's Angel Food Cake
1. Allow the angel to reach room temperature. Then kill it.
2. Kill God. Set Him aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
4. Ecstatically whip, as if possessed by a storm-wind of freedom, 1-1/2 cups of excellent egg whites with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1-1/2 tsp. cream of tartar. Continue until peaks are as if raised to their own heights and given wings in a fine air, a robust air.
5. Gradually add...
“I am an adrenaline junkie.
Apparently.”
– Upperzone on stretching limits
“With 10 bricks,
I built you a wall.
With 1,000 bricks,
you built me a pile of...”
– Upperzone on losing trust
“I’m not saying that market force is the way to go, they have their narrow...”
– upperzone on state, market & development
“When you wake up and see that the sun is still there,
you know that life is...”
– Upperzone on a good day
It was my lesson. I just couldn't see it before.
I’ve been away from my soul for a little too long that words seem to run away from the tips of my fingers. Every tap on the keyboard sounds like broken glass, every figure on screen looks like shattered dreams. Tonight, behind the gentle snowfall in January, once again I beautifully dance with my alphabets.
Like an eagle learning to fly for the first time, I fell and hit the ground far too...
Philosophy is fun!
Stressing about my philosophy exam, I came across this wonderful, fun, curious website.
Try it! http://www.markvernon.com/quiz/my-philosophy-guru/
here’s mine:
ZENO OF CITIUM.
Key fact: He taught in a stoa, the Athenian supermarket, and hence founded the school of philosophy called Stoicism.
Must have: An interest in everyday life, for it is there that you learn life’s big...
“Euan (Scotts)
Ewan (English)
Ieuan (Welsh)
Iwan (Indonesian?)”
– upperzone on Cultural Diversity
December 2009
6 posts
“Life is not a race, but a journey at your own pace. Somewhere down the line you...”
– upperzone on 2010
In Death, I find Life.
People change, and supposedly more when they live in new faraway places with different cultures. Whether they change for better or for worse, that’s another question; better or worse according to whom while we’re at it too…
After all the years of living by myself, surviving backstabs and ridiculous envies just because I am young and female, I used to think that maybe retreating...
“Think outside the box, in the box.”
– upperzone on student life
November 2009
2 posts
Keeping A Good Life
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with...
“In death, I find life.”
– upperzone back on track
What Truth to Defend?
Until proven, everything else is gossip.
There are two sides of every story. Both, are true, just as subjective as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Does the utterance fit the facts or does the facts fit the utterance?
Truth, in the end, comes from the strongest argument, even if it isn’t true. Or power… which ever is strongest. Or money.
October 2009
2 posts
“It is normal to eat, we do it everyday.
It is normal to die, but we do it only...”
– Upperzone on … (i have no idea) …
“Between the lines I console my soul,
at times when turning the page is not one...”
– upperzone on painful home
September 2009
12 posts
“Without me.”
– upperzone on being left behind
Home Away From Home
I keep running into the same set of questions, so, here’s the answer to my friend’s FAQ.
1. What is it like to be here?
Hmmm.. a little more laid back than i thought, but then again this is a shire (ndeso a la anglais). I’m used to a fast-paced life, so times could be a little frustrating with all the queues and still can’t get anything done after 2 hours.
...
“I walk next to you when I feel the sunshine”
– upperzone on nearness of you
Invisible Tears
A whole week of people saying goodbye, bidding me farewell for another chapter of my life. Thank you my dear friends & colleagues. I’ve never been good at personal expressions, looking rather straight faced even, but be sure that I will miss you all with my invisible tears.
A special holler is to the greatest growing up companion. So many nights we’ve spent talking and talking and...
Beyond Borders
See not with your eyes,
for perception can deceive you.
Hear not with your ears,
for words are only A-Z.
Touch not with your hand,
for distance is relative.
See with your heart,
for love shows what is real.
Listen with your heart,
for love speaks only truth.
Touch with your heart,
for love goes beyond borders.
“I fear not the distance,
I fear not the unknown,
I fear coming home to...”
– Upperzone on invisible tears
Note to Self: convergence in Lab movement too (?)
note to self:
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14298749
When the requirements to enter different industries become so similar that firms can just as easily take part in one as in another.
Does this mean standards are converged, meaning justice for all, or converged meaning grey?
Thank you
“Thank you” is something we don’t hear very often, and when we do, sometimes we take it for granted or thought that there must be some hidden agenda or whatever hidden meaning.
Sometimes, Thank you is simply, Thank you.
Thanking someone for helping out,
thanking someone for caring enough,
thanking someone for being patient,
thanking someone for an extra effort,
thanking a...
“Hujan pertama di bulan September,
berbisik lembut di malam sepi.
Seperti...”
– upperzone on Hujan
August 2009
11 posts
aware, belong, preserve
“Mulat sarira angrasa wani,
rumangsa melu andarbeni,
wajib melu angrungkeb”,
is a Javanese proverb from Prince Mangkunagara III (1853-1881), which roughly means “Have the courage to be aware, develop a sense belonging, and a duty to preserve”.
This is a beautiful rule to live by.
Once you have the courage to declare something as part of you, a natural sense of...
“If what you want isn’t here,
can you envision it somewhere else?”
– Upperzone on Treading Delicately, Suggest not recommend.
“Either you make a million dollars or you owe a million dollars.
If you make a...”
– (Serbian who owns a music store in New Jersey) on Rules to Live By
Modern Slavery
Every man is entitled for his/her freedom of association, but many chose to dissociate from trade unions out fear that it would cost them their job.
“Just because there aren’t labour unions for informal workers,
or that...”
– upperzone on labour rights as human rights
Which Button For Favours?
There was a study done by Citibank that asked managers what they would do if a colleague came to them for assistance on a project that wasn’t theirs and it required their time, energy and resources. Under what circumstances would you feel most compelled to comply with that request?
Turns out in US, UK and Canada, the answer was to ask yourself, “Has this person done anything for me recently?” If...
catalogue item #1
note to self:
L34519 Exploring Science and Technology in Society (4000)
critically examine social, institutional, ethical, cultural and political issues related to the emergence and impact of scientific and technological developments
“War against the machines - the diminishing role of people in production of goods and services”
L34518 Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society (5000)
...
Work: Private or Public?
“Can u believe that Pepiroo’s friend, a civil servant, is NOW (12 PM) heading to a mall to spend the rest of the day?!”
That was a line my best friend dropped a few months ago, venting her disbelief that someone who works for a government office could irresponsibly head to one of the hippest mall in town, in the middle of a working day, and obviously not for work.
I’ve...
July 2009
13 posts
game of strangers
Two of my friends have recently been nudged by total strangers who found their messenger ID from the internet. One stranger expressed his undying love to my friend after a couple of days, while the other… well, sadly ignored by my other friend even though the stranger is a 49 year old woman.
In the spirit of learning about game theory applications, I wonder how this play out?
I’ll...