Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time....
let this be a decision to make every morning when we wake up...

A 92-year-old, petite, legally blind, well-poised and proud lady, was fully dressed this morning by eight o'clock. Her hair was fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied.
She was moving to a nursing home today. Her husband recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she manoeuvred her walker to the elevator, she was provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.

"I love it !! " she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old who had just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs.. Jones, you haven't even seen the room yet, just wait!"

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied.
"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.

I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account: you withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the Bank account of memories.

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.



Acknowledgement to Miss Superb Carolin.

Few days ago, Yeni (a sweet friend in Austria) emailed a shocking news. Our friend, Erhan Varol has passed away in a car accident in his home country,Turkey.

I could not believe it. Kept telling myself: it must be another stupid joke. I kept asking people if it was true, browsing the internet hoping to find the news.

But my colleague said: "would anyone joke about it?"

So it must be true. And more mails are coming about the lost of our dear friend.

It took me another day to actually cried for him. Last night was chatting with Susie and she told me more details. I hope he was not in pain. Erhan always smiles. always.

The first time we met, he watched me cooking chicken at our kitchen. He looked like he has never seen a soya sauce before. He never cooked,only instant food. Anyway,he bought a chicken right away and asked me to cook again for him. We did not even know each others' names yet.

He would hugged me when I'm sad. In parties, he would make sure the girls come home safely, he actually waited until we were in the mood to go home. I remember his loud music that made others cant sleep. When I left Austria, he walked with me to the station. He is special.

Now he's gone. Just like that. I will never see him again. gone. amazing. Life is amazing, God is amazing.

my dear friends..please take care,ok.. unexpected things happen. Well..actually death is one of the expected things..it is normal.. but I guess I'll never be mature enough to understand. Just take care..love you all.


Quote of the day: Life is not measured by how many breaths you take. But by how many moments that takes your breath away.

1984

Ronald Reagan is president of the US On a Challenger mission, two astronauts become the first humans to fly free of a spacecraft An Union Carbide insecticide plant in Bhopal, India seeps toxic gas killing over 2,000 Penthouse magazine publishes nude photographs of Miss America Vanessa Williams The Soviet Union boycotts the Los Angeles Summer Olympics Richard Stallman starts developing GNU "Where's the Beef?" commercial campaign for Wendy's airs for the first time The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to use a computer mouse and GUI interface, is introduced by Apple Ethiopian famine begins Mandy Moore and Avril Lavigne are born Detroit Tigers win the World Series Los Angeles Raiders win Superbowl XVIII Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup Ghost Busters, Beverly Hills Cop, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, and The Karate Kid are top grossing films "When Doves Cry" by Prince and the Revolution spends the most time at the top of US charts Michael Jackson's hair catches fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial The Cosby Show, Punky Brewster, and Who's the Boss? premiere

*Color of the day: Blue *

I'm dead tired and sleepy in my office now. Last night was not my best rest, had a fight with my boyfriend. ...My precious but hurted boyfriend.

Speaking of which, Fedi never really liked rollercoasters. I used to love it, but I guess lately I have more fears to those overspeed machines. men-made. *_*

Back to the topic. On happy days, he would cook for me and I would entertain him (hi-hi). Or we would laugh so hard and dance crazily. Or we could just sit quietly reading. Fedi with his online newspapers and coffee. Me with my novel and earlgrey tea.

Lately, it's turning to a Rollercoaster.. up down, thrown here and there. that's how I feel.
Many unexpected things, got into fight, tears, and then we will hug and love each other again. Seriously, in this week, that has happenned 3 times!

We also have money problems. But I'm so glad we've never fought about it.

Also, the more people you get involved with, the more colorful your life is.
..my girls.. the other one has problems in her relationship, and the other one is having a major crush. In any case, I think along with them.

My new colleague, Misumi, loves her 18 months son so much, telling me things about her expectations and feelings for the baby. about being a mother.
On friday afternoon, after work, we would ask each other about our plans for weekend.
I usually say:"No plans yet. I'll see"
and Misumi said : "I know for sure what I'm gonna do tonite."
"what is it ?"
"Cuddling my baby" she said.
^ _^ Nice life.. really.

The rollercoaster of my relationship may not be convenient. But as Fedi always says at the end of our tears; "at least we are not a boring couple" . true, cay.


Bring it on, baby..

*************************************************
When we meet the right person to love when we're at the right place at the right time. That's a chance.

When you meet someone you're attracted to, that's not a choice. That's a chance.

Being caught up in a moment (and there's a lot of couples who get together because of this) is not a choice. That's also a chance.

The difference is what happens afterward. When will you take that infatuation, that crush, that mind-blowing attraction to the next level?

That's when all sanity goes back, you sit down and contemplate whether you want to make this into a concrete relationship or just a fling.

If you decide to love a person, even with his faults, that's not a chance. That's choice.

When you choose to be with a person, no matter what, that's choice.

Even if you know there are many people out there who are more attractive, smarter, and richer than your mate, and yet, you decide to love your mate just the same, that's choice.

Infatuation, crushes, attraction comes to us by chance. But true love that lasts is truly a choice. A choice that we make.

Regarding soul-mates, there's a beautiful movie quote that I believe is so true about this: "Fate brings you together, but it's still up to you to make it happen."

I do believe that soul-mates do exist. That there is truly someone made for you. But it's still up to you to make the choice if you're going to do something about it or not.

We may meet our soul-mates by chance, but loving and staying with our soul-mate is still a choice we have to make.

To Fedi; Take my hand, we'll make it. I swear.

"Ik kan me niet voorstellen dat ik ooit zal worden neergeschoten. Maar if it happens, it happens"
Theo Van Gogh, in an interview with RVU, a week before his death. (Metro, Wednesday 3 November)

*Translation: "I can not say if I will ever got shot down. But if it happens, it happens*

Theo Van Gogh was a person with so many friends, and even many more enemies. (Volkskrant,Nov 2, 2004). He made controversial movies, about religion and politics. He critizes Islam in his column in a famous newspaper in Holland. Almost a week ago, he was shot and stabbed during cycling, by someone who is obviously hurt by Theo's creations. An extremist.

His words must have hurt many people, but to kill someone for this is even more wrong. wronger. whatever.

After his last controversial movie, 0605, he has been receiving many death threats, he did say "If it happens, it happens",

Obviously, Theo was more compliant about his own death than his friends . The Dutch.

The same night he was killed, angry Dutch gathered to shout their opinion and condolences for Theo. (I believe they are more angry than sad). Personally, I think the Dutch felt they have been taken for granted. Holland has been welcoming foreigners, helping them find shelters and jobs to do in their land.

"In this land, we do not kill people, because they show opinions" a colleague of Theo shouted this, followed by a roar of agreement by 20,000 Dutch in DamSquare.

A letter that the killer left under Theo's body, was written like a poem, wishing death for the hypocretes. 'No discussion, no demonstration, no petition, only death shall differentiate Truth from Lies'

Vice prime minister, Zalm, declared yesterday "we verklaren de oorlog terug. We voeren de strijd op en zullen radicale islamitische bewegingen uit Nederland doen verdwijnen"

*Translation: We explain the war. We intensify the fight and radical Islamic movements from the Netherlands to disappear

I told you they are angry..

I grew up in Indonesia, a country with many problems. Therefore I have been considering Holland a very safe place to live. Now that the Dutch strikes back --they have just burned some mosque, and a bomb in a moslem school in Eindhoven, safe is not the right word anymore.

Holland's ministers called the moslem school bombers: "idiots".
I agree. Those kind of strikes back did not - and will never - work anywhere.

If there is a way to stop this 'heilige oorlog' without sacrificing the innocents, I put high hopes on Holland to show how.




Fingers crossed,

l.l.d


>>the news (in English)
>>Mohammed B. (in Dutch)
>>The letter (in Dutch)

Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, You were shot down!". "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.
"I packed your parachute," the man replied.
Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude.
The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"
Plumb assured him,"It sure did, If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."
Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man.
Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers.

I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said "Good morning, How are you?" or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shroud lines and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?"

Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory --- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute.

He called on all these supports before reaching safety. Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachute. *

This is how you will be thankful of who you are now.



* There are many versions of this story, but I took this one from: http://godslittleacre.net/inspirationalstories/who_packed_your_parachute_today.html