Stairway to Heaven

This is my most favorite classical rock! The best song ever by Led Zeppelin. The song  was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Rober Plant for the band’s untitled fourth studio album . The nearly eight-minute song is composed of several sections, which increase in tempo and volume as the song progresses. The song begins as a slow acoustic-based folk song accompanied by recorders (my favorite musical instrument), before electric instrumentation is introduced. The final section is a high-tempo hard-rock highlighted by an intricate guitar solo by Page.

I don’t know how to give the illustration of a Stairway to Heaven, but at least there’s a picture here.

Now let’s check out the lyrics:

“Stairway To Heaven”

There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying the stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying the stairway to heaven.

There’s a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it’s whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now,
It’s just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won’t go, in case you don’t know,
The piper’s calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she’s buying the stairway to heaven.

Cats in the Craddle

I like this song so much. I first heard this song performed by Ugly Kid Joe, later I know that it is actually a folk rock song by Harry Chapin in 1974 from the album Verities & Balderdash. The song is about a father who is too busy to spend time with his son. Although the son repeatedly asks him to join in childhood activities, the father always responds with little more than vague promises of spending time together in the future. While the son longs to spend time with his father, he continues to admire his father. This shapes the son’s future behavior, which turns out to be just like his father. Just check out the following lyrics:

Cat’s in the Cradle
by Sandy & Harry Chapin

My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He’d say, “I’m gonna be like you, dad.
You know I’m gonna be like you.”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, “Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play.
Can you teach me to throw?” I said, “Not today,
I got a lot to do.” He said, “That’s ok.”
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmmed,
Said, “I’m gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I’m gonna be like him.”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
“Son, I’m proud of you. Can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
“What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?”

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, dad.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, “I’d like to see you if you don’t mind.”
He said, “I’d love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kid’s got the flu,
But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad.
It’s been sure nice talking to you.”
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He’d grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, dad.
You know we’ll have a good time then.”

The Ugly Kid Joe version does not make this lyrical change but rather changes the grammatical structure of the chorus from “When you coming home?” / “Son, I don’t know when …” to the final “When you coming home, son?” / “I don’t know when …” The final verse is a reverse of the roles; where the father asks his now grown-up son to visit, but the son responds with his father’s line. The father then realizes that he and his son are both alike.

This song always reminds me of my friend, Nancy Saija, who keeps on telling me to spent more time with my kids. As she experienced before with her family, she was too busy with her jobs and suddenly she realized that her children had already grown up, and she couldn’t turn back the time, her children do not really need her anymore. Now, she’s living alone, and still busy with her own works atlhough she’s in top of her career, but this time she’s a much wiser woman whomI can share my problems with.

Suatu hari di Pusdiklatwas BPKP…

Saya mengantar peserta Diklat Pengelolaan Diklat Golongan III tahun 2010 bulan Februari kemarin untuk melakukan studi banding ke Pusdiklatwas BPKP di Ciawi. Kami memilih Pusdiklatwas BPKP sebagai objek tujuan kunjungan karena pusdiklat tersebut telah memiliki sertifikasi ISO 9001: 2008, padahal Pusdiklatwas BPKP baru melakukan kegiatan operasional pertamanya pada tahun 1983 di Jl. Purnawarman, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan (artinya, dulu BPPK, unit instansi saya sebenarnya adalah ‘ induk’ dari BPKP, tapi si ‘anak’ ini jadinya lebih hebat dari induknya yang sampai saat ini SOPnya aja belum kelar2 dibuat…). Lokasi pusdiklat di Ciawi juga baru ditempati tahun 2004, tapi sarananya sangat lengkap dan juga manajemennya sangat luar biasa efektifnya. Satu lagi, ada 12 diklatnya sudah mendapat sertifikasi LAN…benar-benar membuat saya mengacungkan 2 jari tinggi-tinggi buat Pusdiklatwas BPK.

Ini sebagian gambar yang bisa saya share buat anda:

Ruang asrama seperti ini loh..

Trus ini fasilitas rekreasi, ada lapangan tenis, kolam pemancingan, jogging track, dll.

Perpustakaan juga ada, koperasi, wartel juga (tapi kayanya mau ditutup karena ngga laku)

Oya gambar isi asrama juga lumayan. Dari sisi fasilitasnya sih biasa2 saja, tapi lihat arrangementnya persis hotel saja.

Ruang makannya juga oke, lobby dan ruang tunggu tamu sangat asik deh…

Saya juga sempat melihat laboratorium komputer dan polikliniknya…

Nah yang paling berkesan lagi itu melihat rencana buka tahun mereka, just take a look:

Nulis apa ya hari ini?

Saya sudah lama berangan-angan untuk kembali aktif menulis, seperti 17 tahun yang lalu. Itu semasa SD, saya jago ngarang, selalu dapat 9 atau 10 di pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia. Saya sering menulis cerpen setiap hari waktu itu.. That’s because I read a lot everday: dari majalah Bobo, Hai, Ananda, Kawanku, Femina, Penjebar Semangat,Jayabaya, Kuntjung, Kompas (Ibu saya maniak baca juga, biaya langganan majalah & koran melebihi uang langganan katering rumah…^_^). Sayang waktu SMP & SMA aktivitas menulis berkurang, karena waktu itu tersita buat kegiatan belajar di sekolah. Pas kuliah S1 sempat ikutan nulis di majalah FISIP, tapi paling cuma 2 semester saja aktifnya. Sekarang, sudah jadi PNS & ibu rumah tangga, masih ada keinginan untuk kembali menulis dengan teratur, tapi ya itu…susah sekali dapat idenya, atau jika sudah ada ide, susah sekali menuangkannya. Writing is a matter of continuous practice, indeed.

Nah, tadi baru dapat ide. Temen saya si James barusan bilang “Moslems are fatalist”, and I have a slight disagreement with that statement. Memang benar kami percaya bahwa semua yang kita alami itu sudah ditakdirkan yang Kuasa, tapi bukan berarti kita orang muslim tidak melakukan ikhtiar loh..but tetap I realize that our fates are determined for us. Bayangin, when you are in some situation or event beyond your control, it’s the will of Allah. Dan itu bukanlah hal yang aneh jika kita adalah orang yang punya nilai spiritual, bukan seperti si James yang maunya semua hal harus bisa dinalar pakai logika. Selama saya hidup hingga saat ini, kita tidak bisa hanya mengandalkan rasio kita, karena tidak semua hal dalam hidup ini dapat kita jawab atau jelaskan dengan akal kita. I believe if we have a  happy resignation to the inevitable, you can settle your nerves better than a thousand sedatives could have achieved.

Jika mengikuti berita-berita di koran, betapa banyak kejahiliyahan dimana-mana oleh manusia. Saya semakin yakin jika all those neurotics, the insane, the drunks, the evil adalah the product of the hurried and harassed lives we live in in our so-called civilization. Lebih sedihnya, di Indonesia yang penduduknya (katanya) religius, apalagi paling banyak muslimnya, tetapi nilai islami tidak mewarnai hidup mereka. Yang sholat banyak, yang puasa banyak, bapak-ibu hajinya banyak…tapi banyak yang tidak menutup aurat, malas bersedekah, sedikit yang berzakat , hobby bohong, nggosip, ngutil n nilep di kantor, ugal-ugalan di jalan raya, buang sampah sembarangan, pergaulan bebas, aduh…sedih banget menyebutkannya habis masih buanyak lagi. So, how can we live in the middle of the jungle of jahiliyah jika tidak diimbangi dengan kepasrahan pada Allah SWT, we’ll be in lost.

I made mistakes, alhamdulillah mungkin karena doa orangtuajuga saya masih diselamatkannya, tidak sampai tersesat arus jaman. Pernah dulu saya dalam satu masalah, tapi ada pertolongan Allah dengan cara yang tidak terduga. I felt the power of Allah as I had never felt before. I realized then that I alone was responsible for all my troubles. I knew that Allah with His love was there to help me. From that day to this, my life has been free from worry. Saya tetapkan prioritas: pray consistently and confidently. The five-times pray, dhuha and tahajud is a must. Pray is the answer to your problem. It’s a means of communication with God. I can know with certainty that Allah is listening to me. I feel free to send my message to Allah. I can just say something I want to share with Allah: my day, my job, my husband, my kids, my troubles, anything. I can tell Him that things are going rough and I need reinforcements. I can thank Allah for the things He has done to me. I can tell Him I am baffled, bewildered, discouraged, frustrated, or that I am the happiest person in the world. Well, I emphasized to James that without our contact with God, we are nothing. Still, that hasn’t convinced him. Jelas, wong dia nggak punya sense of spirituality sih…

Tuh kan, ternyata menulis itu susah. Jadinya melantur kemana-mana. It does need a lot of practice in writing to make you a great author, tul ngga?

What makes me unique?

Being both spiritual and flexible is one of the aspects of my personality that makes me most unique. I am a moslem: I accept all the Quran says because I belive in Allah and I am faithful to prophet Muhammad. That’s why I can take life so calmly and never hurry to get into unnecessary tempers when things go wrong. I know that what is ordained is ordained; and no one but Allah can alter anything. (However, that doesn’t mean that in the face of problems or disaster, I sit down and do nothing).

In addition, I think that being flexible is very important too, as to minimize the doldrums of life. It’s very easy for people to get themselves into a rut of always doing and liking the same things, but a greater challenge is trying something different, as long as it is allowed by outr relious belief. There is much greater awakening of all the potential you have, when you try new things.

The job I hold trully puts flexibility to the test. I’m a Widyaiswara, a trainer of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia. I am faced with different situations and people everyday, since I teach several subjects to all official from all units of MOU all over Indonesia. I can teach public speaking and Pancasila in one day, and teach Teambuilding and Master of Ceremony another day. I can teach at Pancoran, Kebayoran, or Bintaro this week, but next week I may teach in Balikpapan. There are times that I must behave like a guru, and there are times I must act like an actress, even a comedian, a manager of classroom debates ….well, flexibility is important in my job.

I am somewhat a careful planner for my money, not an extravagant person who likes to do things big and bright. But sometimes I spend my sparetime at shopping malls or bookstores, I am a push-over for good clothes for teaching and books for my brain. I am an ordinary, person, really, but I enjoy formal gatherings with bosses, charity events, and a bustling city. In a sense, I’m sometimes a worldly person, but at the same time I still like simple things in life. There are times I am perfectly content just sitting at my porch, watching my kids playing, or running along the jogging track in my neighborhood. Those make me thank God for all good things in my life.

Being flexible allows me to branchout in many different situations that I am face with, and to enjoy the different paths I sometimes choose to follow (I was once an insurance agent, a singer, an amateur musician, a member of drama club, a journalist, a tour guide, and pizza-maker when I was younger…^_^). That is very important to me, because it makes me the individual that I am.