RockIt

You Can Still Be Rich Even Though You Are $300,000 in Debt

2007-09-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

“Ah! What should I do with my future?!” That was the kind of worrying question I often asked myself 1-2 years ago. Reminiscing back to the past, it was quite stressful days – my fear for the future. It took me quite some times until I figure out my true dream, what do I want to see myself as in the future.

Since I was little, I have been dreaming to be an entrepreneur. Being wealthy is one of the fundamental reasons of me wanting to be an entrepreneur. Since then, I have been trying to figure out what is it that I really enjoy doing and that will also be lucrative for business. I have finally found the answer.

I often distress myself ‘thinking’ about my dream. My friend once told me, “You can be $300,000 in debt and still be rich”. Wow! It’s so damn true. $300,000 here is just an exaggeration cost. The statement tries to emphasize the value of sacrifices that will be needed for someone to reach their dream.

Everyone has his/her own dream, whether it is to be a philanthropist, an astronaut, an air force pilot, and many others. For me, my dream (to describe it in a broad perspective) is to be rich. It might sound skeptical now, but every single day I have been striving to reach that dream. I realize that the mind is strong. A set mind with persistence, determination, and motivation can produce a “miracle” because everyday can be a miracle. Future is a fad that can not be predicted, but rather has to be created. Dreaming is never wrong. However, many people would just think and talk about their future dream without showing any effort in trying to reach it. I just have one thing to say, “Talk is cheap. More action, less talk”. I despise big talkers. Like Phil Knight with his Nike slogan, “Just Do It”, wouldn’t it be more effective if we start the action now than just waiting? The choices are only for you to decide.

My Summer Internship 2007 at Baxter

2007-09-22T05:12:00.001-07:00

I have enjoyed every single day of my summer internship at Baxter: interacting with all the very helpful, friendly, and supportive people, understanding about the corporate organization, learning to be respectful toward everyone and to handle different problems in different situations, improving my communication skill, competing with other interns, and learning how to enjoy work!

I have gotten to know very friendly and knowledgeable people whether they are the other interns or the plant manager himself. Competition was quite stiff among the interns. There was an intern, who was one year younger than me, but she was sociably likeable and very smart too. How can’t I feel pressured?! Yeah indeed, it made me depressed because I am a very competitive person. I tend to feel discouraged when I work with a person, especially if he/she is younger, but is a lot smarter than me. However, I tried converting my negative feelings into positive feelings by trying to get to know her more and helping her to succeed with her project at the same time. Yup, she’s unique from the other interns, smart and very friendly too – good luck on your future endeavors, J!

My final presentation, many people said, was quite a blast. I made many people, even the plant manager himself, laughed at my jokes at the end, but I feel that I could have done better. It is very seldom for me to feel satisfied with my own work, but I think I have to at this point. My last day at Baxter was full of memorable experience: being treated for lunch was gratifying, 2 hour talking about random things with my manager was memorable, giving hugs and taking pictures with lots of people was priceless, bidding farewell to everyone was sad but uplifting. I left work very late that day, but what a wonderful day it was!

As far as many people wanted me to come back working there after my graduation, I am now still indecisive. I want to start working for another specific company, to further follow my dream. But, Baxter has taught me tremendous amount of knowledge and experience and who knows that I would come back working there again after my graduation.

Thank you, Baxter. Thank you to all the managers, directors, and my co-workers. Thank you J for teaching me the ability to interact and being more open to other people – hope you will succeed on your future career too. You will not see me tearing down, but I am very happy and contented. Thank you everyone for having made my summer internship fun. It has been exhilarating and very enjoyable!

Kind regards,

H.T.

The Sweet Escape

2007-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Early morning
while the joyful birds sing
Before the mighty alarms ring
and the friendly sun gives its flirty wink

The rendezvous of morning jogger
imagining Rocky Balboa the fanatical boxer
Grandma and her adorable dogs from afar
and the old man passionately washes his classical car

The sluggish sky is not yet blue
heavy breathing and sore thighs, but continue
The early morning dew
invariably penetrates, wants to come through

No where of knowing
as free as the wind, but no where of turning
Ready for the challenge and I really meant
ah, one morning beautifully spent

“Yesterday is a history
Tomorrow is a mystery”
Today bourn free
no imagining, just leaping definitely

Listening to my song
Somewhere I Belong
Who cares of acting wrong?
and you are absolutely free to tag along

By: H. Tikualu

Street Smart vs. Book Smart, What Makes You Special

2007-09-11T20:10:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wandered, it does not matter how much books you have read, how much theories you have learned, how much knowledge you have gained, how much abstracts you have known, but there is still some empty spaces that affect your lack of decisions in life? It is an enigma – missing pieces of a puzzle that need to be solved!

Aristotle, the great philosopher himself, differentiates the two distinguishable intellectual virtues: Phronesis and Sophia. Sophia often is related to the wisdom, for people to think well about the nature of the world and to “understand” the way the world works. On the other hand, Phronesis constitutes the ability of “adaptation” that would affect/change how a person would react to different situations that they encounter according to their instinct for the betterment of their lives. Sophia involves the deliberation of universal truths - how a person would behave in certain situations based on his/her receptive knowledge. Phronesis considers the choosing of different action preferences to achieve a certain end based on self intuition.

I envy people who possess the natural talent of being street smart. I often wish to be blessed with more street smart than book smart. By being a book smart, I love to observe how the street smart people would react and handle novel problems in different situations. I feel challenged to compete with the street smart individuals whether it involves school or work activities. At my workplace, I feel frustrated when a person can make better decisions than I can. I can definitely argue about the technical knowledge, but I am lacking the ability to adapt to different situations. Oh… the frustration. What should I do? Someone just stole my thunder. Instead of developing my negative feelings, I always try to focus on my work result and work together with these street smart people. Consequently, my knowledge grows and my ability to handle certain things improves.

For me, being a book smart is definitely as important as being a street smart. A person needs to find the balance of these two. If you consider yourself a book smart, surround yourself more with the people of street smart and vice versa. Both book smart and street smart have their specialty in handling situations in life. I am proud of being a book smart. At the same time, I envy those of the street smart. In the end, I realize that both the book smart and the street smart should work together as a team to achieve good results. It is like the Ying and the Yang – one completes and supports another.

Say cheese!

And Again...

2007-09-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

Sepintas
Terlewat wajahnya
Yang berseri lagi

Ah
Aku rindu
Tetapi hatinya tak bersemi

Cepat kau pergi
Hilang
Aku benci

Si cantik
Datang tetapi menjauh
Aku benci, dan rindu…

R.I.P Maestro Luciano Pavarotti (1935 – 2007)

2007-09-08T10:19:00.001-07:00

I have never extremely liked opera, but hearing the incident regarding the death of Luciano Pavarotti makes me sad. Here again, we have lost yet another legend who has contributed/devoted his life for the advancement of opera music. Simultaneously, I felt contented because I believe that Mr. Pavarotti has been able to maximize and focus on his passion and that is to be an opera singer. His legend has roared through the ears of many people: the old, the young, the males, and the females, and has implanted the seed of fire to continuously grow in many individuals. One of the best examples would be in the case of Paul Potts, whom once Pavarotti “trained”.

The story of Paul Potts, as many people have said, can be considered as the Cinderella opera story. He was born in a poor family and has always been the target of class bullies in school. He suffered benign tumor in his appendix and went through two surgeries to remove it. He experienced a motorbike accident in 2003 which he broke his collar bone and kept him away from performing. The accidents left him out of the opera circles because the contract manager did not want to deal with such troubles, considering Paul Potts was still an amateur opera guy. Did he give up? He’s standing still and yet standing even taller after each obstacle.

“He went on to perform in Barrymore’s ‘My Kind Of Music’ (1999). The money he won from the show (£8000) along with his savings was spent on attending various training courses in Italy.”¹

“After having appendicitis doctors discovered a benign tumour that was removed. 2 weeks after the operation he was back on stage.”¹

“Since his illness he has struggled with money and has never reached his potential in Opera and this is why he has chosen to enter Britain’s got talent.”¹

He gave Britain’s Got Talent, a competition like American Idol, a shot to boost his opera career. He won first place in that BGT. And now, he’s starting to get recognized, respected, and rewarded. Talking about hard work and persistence here J.

Check his heart-moving performance at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA

I, too, have been struggling in discovering my passion. I was, a couple of times, having fear for my future. But, I am advancing, not giving up. Fortunately, I have found what I want to do for my future. I have realized that there are many other people who are more unfortunate that I am, but they would end up “successful”. Both Pavarotti and Paul Potts are idols that many people can look up to. Rest In Peace Maestro Luciano Pavarotti; your devotion to opera music would be a legend in many people’s heart, including mine. Thank you for showing us your passion and persistence in the world of music!

“I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent and this is what I have devoted my life to” – Luciano Pavarotti

Say Cheese!

¹http://celebsonfire.wordpress.com/2007/06/15/paul-potts-in-the-spotlight-again/

Sexist? You decide!

2007-09-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

A girl told me, “I would not ever want my boyfriend to be shorter than me.” Ouch! This statement sliced my heart quite profoundly. And so, I was replying, “That’s such sexist statement. Now think, can the president of the United States of America, the leader of the supernation countries, be a woman? Can a woman be the breadwinner in a family?” Without hesitation, she answered “Yes!” I replied back, “So, a girlfriend can not be taller than her boyfriend?”

I was offended, but I tried to hide my emotions =P. Back to the topic, I would think that a boyfriend can be shorter than his girlfriend (I might be biased because I consider myself not tall), a woman can rule over the world if she qualifies, a woman can be the breadwinner in a family, etc. That’s just my thinking way and liberal belief. However, I believe in the equality of all sexes. Women in the US, as well as in many countries, have striven fighting over this sex equality since early 1900s and I support them. After all, Both men and women are human beings who want to be recognized, respected, and most importantly considered important in the society. YES FOR EQUALITY OF THE SEXES!

Say cheese!

Beyond sky, there is yet another layer of sky

2007-09-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

The thought of burning competitions lately arouse in my mind. I,often times, compare myself to others, especially those people whom I have always envied and looked up to - talking about a friend of mine whom received a full scholarship at USC and graduated with a 3.7GPA, finished his BS in Industrial Engineering and simultaneously his MBA in the period of 4 years. There are numerous of my friends who have started becoming successful, whether it is in school or in business. And yet, here I am falling behind, watching their footsteps furthering away from me. I somehow feel jealous and happy for them at the same time. All of these different feelings jumbled inside my mind. Stressful, isn't it? Time for me to choose my own life destination...

Thank you to all my friends who've been listening to all my nonsense blabbering and giving me advice. It took me a while to finally realize that everybody has his/her own specialty. Comparing ourselves with other people will just cause stress and pressure. Just do everything your best, find your strength, focus and improve on it for you then can become a successful person. Plan ahead of time whatever your future life goals are, find your destination in life, take steps to achieve those goals, one step at a time. I lately came across this one quote, which really impacts my way of thinking:
"In between stimulus and response, lies a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response
In that response lies our growth and happiness."
Such an amazingly profound quote!

My suggestion: Be yourself, do whatever you're passionate about, focus on it, stick on your goals, do not give up, give everything your best and you'll definitely be successful and happy! Remember: as Garfield said, "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best."

Say cheese :)