Movie update!

Have just finished watching The Age of Innocence for the ummm maybe 6th time, and still the story, the acting captivate me. Ur d man DD-L!! and u too Martin Scorcese .
It also got me so excited for DD-L next project “Nine”…this time round, he’ll have nine women in his life including among other Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Stacie Ferguson a.k.a (Fergie Black Eyed Peas) etc. Plus he’ll be singing..ahhh…Just cant wait!!
Another movie update that really excite me is the fact that Renee Zellweger will return once again to play Bridget Jones. Hurray!! Nobody does Bridget better than Renee. Wonder what will happen this time
Owh, I also read a couple of weeks a go that Julia Roberts is shooting for Eat, Pray and Love in none other than Bali!! This time, I wont be watching for you Julia…but more to see how many places I could actually recognised!! Who knows I might know some of the background people (hahaha…I know its a far cry, but it gets me excited anyway).
Finally…ladies, (and perhaps some gentlemen ), hold your breath…second installment of Twilight is coming to ur cinema :p make sure u got ur tissue ready and dont forget to wear waterproof mascare if ur watching it…

Change…

is in the air…
Whether you realised it or not, we are faced with change all the time. Big or small, fast or slow…
Some changes are so huge like the breakdown of Berlin Wall. Remind me of that Song from Scorpion “Wind of Change”…
But, some changes are so small and happen gradually that we dont even know it…In your busy life, how often do you stop and look in the mirror to see the changes in your faces (well, unless ur so narciist that u stare at ur face every second ).
How often do you notice the changes in your surrounding or the changes in the people around you..How often do you even think if there is a change at all?
Just like a couple of weeks a go when I went back to my hometown in Denpasar. I passed the streets from my home to Sanur. I remember as a child, walking through the ricefields along the not so busy roads…but everytime I go back there it seems the number of buildings, houses, shops continue to grow and the ricefields slowly disappear. That means that the neighboorhood has grown, but call me sentimental, I cant help but feel some loss…
Yeah, the effect of change can be good or bad, but most of the time its both The hesitation of what the effect of the change can be the main reason that some of us prefer to stay unchange. Yup, most of us would rather stay in our comfort zone.
But, life is about change. We just cant resist it. How can u defy the motion of time? How can u deny the fact that each second you grow older?
To me, October is a special month. Not just because I was born this month, but because it has bring sum of the major changes in my life…
I started my study in England in October 1999. Still fresh in my memory all those mixed excitements of seeing and experiencing something totally new.
Then, I defended my thesis in October 2004. Still feel the nervousness, the breakdowns and uplifting moments of that day…
I became a mother in October 2006. Needless to say the priceless feelings of happiness in welcoming my lil angel
This October, change is certainly in the air for me

One fine Summer day in Nottingham

Waking up in one Sunday morning watch the news to see what’s the weather like today…Apparently its gonna be a lovely day today. So wholeheartedly go to the kitchen, had bakebeans, two toasts and a cup of English tea…

Had a quick shower and Im good to go…Oops its half past 9, and the next bus to the city is 9.45!!

Walk hastily to the bus stop, get there just as the bus pull over…enter a full bus to be greeted by the driver “morning lof” with that thick English accent..

Wander around the city center and enter countless of shops…Three hours later, sit in the corner of the city, having a Jacket potato with sweet corn for lunch while reading TV Guide…Then its time to stretch my legs again… so decided to take the bus and stop at the University Park.

The park is full. Some kids playing Frisbee, a couple of people walk their dogs…an ice cream man having a gud time serving a queue of eager customers…some people lay on the grass and murmur “such a lofly weather today”. I stand by the lake and watch the ducks swim away…Walk up and down the green hills on my way home…

Got home just in time for an afternoon tea with two English muffins. Put my feet up on the sofa, switch on the TV to watch Anne Robinson does her best to scare the contestant on The Weakest Link

Dedicated to the memory of those five years in Nottingham. Surely miss those times

The importance of being healthy

Its amazing how in life we often took for granted things that are most important to us…like our health.
When we are healthy we often forget all the things that are needed to stay healthy…Its almost as if “health” is “given” and by default you will stay healthy. I am sure that all of us know exactly what are needed: eat healthy foods, drink a lot of water (minimum 2 litres a day), have enough rest (which normally include 8 hours sleep) and do a lot of exercise. Owh and dont forget, we need a healthy dose of relaxation
While these all looks so simple…it takes a lot of discipline to satisfy all of these…throw all the chaos of work then these can all go to “to do” or “wish list”…
And then booom, all of the sudden, your body just decided, it has taken enough…your immune system go down and you got sick…this is when you immediately realised how important it is to be healthy…that nothing can be done when you are lying with sore throat, runny nose and a fever!!!
So, stay healthy people!!!

Have you watched these?

Like many many people, watching a movie is something that I really enjoy doing. Its one of my passions outside traveling and listening to music. Well, how could I resist it, it’s in the gene! My late grandpa and my father are both movie-addicts. So as a child I remembered watching movies like Ben-Hur, ET and Superman with my family. But then as I grew up, I started to have my own choice. I am not a real movie critic so my choices are not extraordinary…to me, a great movie must serve its purpose. If it is a suspense movie then it must make the audience hold their breath and keep guessing the end. If it is a comedy, then it must make you laugh. For a drama, it can do so many things..it can bring tears to your eyes, it can lift your spirit or make you feel in love. A great movie will have a lot of other ingredients: a good story, a great actor and actresses, wonderful setting, and the icing of the cake would be a good score/music! There’s nothing more fulfilling than to watch a movie with all these elements. A great movie takes you to a different world…
Sometimes when I daydream, I wonder how good it must feel to be a movie critic. All you have to do is to watch a movie then write it down…Yeah, I know, I know, it’s a simplification, no offense to all the movie critics out there. But, then I thought, its not a dream…I can be a movie critic (wannabe of course) by writing it here…After all, this is my space, where I can say almost everything rite
So, ladies and gentleman, I will start writing what I feel, love or hate about movies her, starting with lists of my favorite movies…
But, before moving on with the list, I have a confession to make…you may find that a certain actor appears so many times on the lists. Yes, I am a huge fan of Daniel Day-Lewis. So, I love ALL his movies. I know it is biased, but try and see some of his movies for yourself, especially those on the list , and you will see that he is such a great actor who deserve the credit…okay okay, I will talk about DDL exclusively in a different post :p
So, without further a do… I will start with the drama category. As I suggested above, drama cover a wide range of topics. I will start with drama related to love. Its always good to talk about love rite?
So here are my choices in no particular order (I find it hard to rank them haha)…

The last of the Mohicans: this is the movie that introduces me to the greatest actor of all time. The first time I saw this movie, I was so impressed (yup, I go on to watch it many many times haha). It has the entire ingredient to be a great movie. The story was captivating, a white man, brought up by his Indian Father, falling in love with the daughter of a British General in a war-torn America. The chemistry between Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye and Madeleine Stowe as Cora was impeccable. Some of the scenes are a little scary, but DDL is searing as Hawkeye! Some of the lines in the movie are so good “No matter how long it takes, no matter how far…I WILL FIND YOU, just stay alive” (Hawkeye to Cora just before he jumps to the waterfall) Owww…how sweet…The scenery are breathtaking and the music score is haunting…My old time favorite

The Age of Innocence: you may start being suspicious that subjectivity comes to play here…haha this one is also starring Daniel Day-Lewis. This time he is Newland Archer, an upper-class lawyer in a still innocent New York. He is engaged to May (Winona Ryder) who is perfect as an innocent but a little boring May Welland. When, May’s cousin, Countess Olenska (Michelle Pffeifer) who is charming and extraordinary, came to New York due to marital problems, Newland finds himself torn between the life that he knew best with the life that he wishes to lead…Owh, this movie is directed by the great Martin Scorcese, and the music score is so subtle…lof it!

The Bridges of Madison County: I watched this movie only once a long looong time a go…but I can still remember how touched I was with the story. I cant remember the detail, but Meryl Streep is a devoted housewife living a rather mundane life. She meets Photographer Clint Eastwood and has a brief once in a lifetime romance with him. The story is not new, but, perhaps the acting makes this movie so touching…at least to me…

Legend of the Fall: The first of a couple of Brad Pitt’s movie in my list Here he is at his very best (if I’m not wrong, he was nominated as best actor in supporting role here) shining as a free-spirited, wild as a mountain, middle son of a former colonel Antony Hopkins. The first son is responsible and level headed (Aidan Quinn). When the third son, the most vulnerable one came with his fiancé (played by Julia Ormond), troubles start to surface, as all the three boys fall for this beautiful girl. The story is complex, with lots of conflicts, great acting from the four leading me. The mountaneous backdrop of the movie is also beautiful..in fact, the only downside to me is Julia Ormond…I find her a little “quiet” to attract the interests of all those men…haha..called me cynical, but see and judge for yourself…

The English Patient: this Anthony Minghella movie won Best Picture at the Oscar and deservingly so..It is a tragic love story between two lover played by Kristin Scott-Thomas and Ralph Fiennes. She is a wife of a British officer, and he is a Rumanian explorer. When the two meets sparks starts to fly and they follow their passions with serious and tragic consequences.

Forrest Gump: “My mamma said…life is like a box of chocolate…you never know what you’re gonna get” These lines are the trademark lines of Forrest Gump. A whimsical tale about a phyisically-challengenged Forrest to rise against all odds. The story is fascinating and Tom Hanks plays it very well. For me, two things that I take from this movie is: how Forrest fall in love and stay true to his love for Janie (or is it Jennie), his childhood sweetheart. Then, how his mother loves and supports him to face the challenges in life…Motherly love is amazing, rite? Owh some of the scenes from Forrest’s life are (how he became a football hero, table tennis champion, etc) sooo funny!!

The Piano: another movie that I watched only once so long a go, but I still remember it being so unique and tragic..It’s about a mute woman (Holly Hunter) who went to marry a guy (Sam Neill) in New Zealand. She brought her daughter and her beloved Piano. After sh e got married, her husband sells her piano to a neighbor played by Harvey Keitel. At first, the woman hates him but then slowly their relationships is transformed that brings them to serious situation.

Titanic: what more can I say, you probably have seen this…it has a timeless story, Leo and Kate in it, an incredible set, good special effect and of course that haunting song…My heart will go on and oooonnn….But, unlike many girls that swoon over Leo at that time, I was not one of them…I don’t know why, I just don’t, sorry Leo

Before Sunrise: compared to the other movie, this one is a little quirky with an indie touch. But, it is sweet, has strong performances from the leads and of course the scenery is amazing. Two strangers meet on the train. They instantly click and feel a strong connection that they explore before the sunrise. I love this also because I love travelling by train hahaha…

American Beauty: This is one of the best contemporary movie in years. It follows the lifes, loves of one dysfunctional family. Annette Benning is a dominating wife of Kevin Spacey. Spacey is brilliant as a depressed, mid life crisis man. Tora Birch is their daughter who must handle her own problems too…A stealing performance from Mena Suvari who becomes Spacey obsession. Watch out for that scene where Spacey day dream about Suvari…what a scene

The Notebook: One of the most recent movies that made it into my list. I was a little late to watch it…It already created a lot of buzz due to on and off-screen romance between the leading actor (Ryan Gosling) and leading actress (Rachel McAdams). Usually, this would create a lot of expectation and I would end up disappointed…but, after watching this one, I cant help but fall in love with it…The story is so classic, but the two young leads create such a good chemistry…

Meet Joe Black: Hmmm, this one was trashed by the critics…but, hey who cares, I love it. The story is a little whimsical. Brad Pitt is Death, sent to take a wealthy businessmen Anthony Hopkins’s life, just before his birthday. Pitt ends up falling in love to his beautiful younger daughter (Claire Forlani) so cue all the problems. I must admit, Pitt is irresistible in this movie though he did almost nothing haha…But, what really made me love this movie is how it portrays the relationships between a dying father and his two daughters. How his first daughter loves his father knowing that his father’s favorite is her sister. Imagine if you knew that you will die, what will you do over the last hours that you have? And the scene where he finally must say goodbye to his daughters is so moving…hiks..hiks..Owh, the movie also has that famous line “Thank you for loving me” that inspires Jon Bon Jovi to make a song out of it…

City of Angel: the premise of this movie is rather similar to Meet Joe Black. I guess tragic love story always intrigue me haha..Nicholas Cage is the angel of death..When he’s sent to take somebody at a hospital he saw Meg Ryan…He fell for her and you better see the rest…Moral of the story is: would you trade a million years of eternity for a day of true happiness? The soundtrack of this movie is so good I still love to hear it until now And I don’t want the world to see me, cause I don’t think that they will understand, when everything would be broken I just want you to know who I am…

Closer: another contemporary tale that follows the relationship of four human being played by a stellar casts Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen. The plots are so complex, I dont even want to describe it here. But the movie is so great in capturing love, lust and infidelity…

Up Close and Personal: “For all those times you stood by me, For all the truth that you made me see, For all the joy you brought to my life, For all the wrong that you made right” are excerpts from the lyrics of Because You Loved Me (Celine Dion) that is the score for this movie. It practically sums up the movie well. Its about a young journalist (Michelle Pfeiffer). She is taken under the wing of a TV professional played by Robert Redford. They soon engaged in a relationships. But the woman does not want their relationships to hold her from her dream. So, the movie is really about how the man support the woman at the cost of his own career…how sweet…

Well, some of you may argue that the list is rather contemporer…I have heard and read some of classic love stories like: Gone with the Wind (watch some part of it, but never in full hiks), Casablanca, From Here to Eternity, On the waterfront etc…But, sadly, I have not got a chance to watch it…but, they are certainly in my must-watched list

Still many more to come, but gotta go back to my real job haha…
To Be Continued…

Down the memory lane – 1

This evening, out of the blue, I suddenly found myself reminiscing down the memory lane.
It is late spring in England. Yup, unlike Indonesia where the sun is always shining, England is famous with its bad weather..Thats why the Brit is so addicted with weather forecast, and people always talk about the weather. In the bus you will hear people says, its a lovely day today, to start a conversation
Among the four seasons, spring always bring a lot of joy. The flower starts to bloom and the weather is much more comfortable.
There is one particular experience that I will always remember until now.
At that time in 2002, I was renting a room from one of my colleaque at the department where I studied. She was a very active woman with lots of hobbies. Gardening is one of her hobbies. Like most Brits, she started planting various flowers during the spring.
At one particular weekend during the spring she went to stay at her parents. Left me all alone in the house.
I was OK with it, because…I can have the house to myself
So that Saturday nite I turned my music and sing my heart out…I know I know, poor neighbour must endure all of my noise I was having a good time hahaha…
But then the next day when I woke up…with my eyes half open I went down stairs…dum dum dum…I saw a white note hung by the terrace. I hastily picked it up and got a real fright. The note said “Dont walk on beds, Bulbs are waking up”
Wooowww, I felt so bad. My mind suddenly went to the neighbour next door. Could it be that the sound of my music was so loud and annoyed them. I have this silly feeling that bulb = baby, cause the neighbour happen to have a baby..and I did jump on the bed a couple of time
Anyway, to cut the story short, as soon as my flatmate came, I told her the story, full with apology…
But to my surprise she started laughing…Apparently she was the one who put the notice…She put it because she did not want the postman to step on the bulbs that she just planted. Yup, bulbs = seeds of plants and bed = the area where u plant the bulb hahaha…Fiuhh, I was so relieved. But my flatmate kept making fun of me for about a week. And she repeated that story over and over everytime she can.
So, moral of the story is: learn more vocabulary before you make any assumption…and of course be safe when u listened to ur music

All about

Decisions and Tradeoffs!

Huaaahhh, I can’t believe thats its been more than a month since my last post here…

I’ve been meaning to write for sometimes, but my situation has NOT changed MUCH since my last post. Still trying to cope with so many deadlines, but I am far more comfortable in my new office now

These days, things get far more complicated as there are so many decisions to make and things to consider. Hmmm, decisions, decisions, decisions…

Dont worry I wont go talking about decision support systems here

I am sure, it is not just happening to me. All of us have to make decisions…and when you make decisions we are forced to make tradeoffs..

It can be a relatively simple decisions with simple tradeoffs…Would you trade tasty burger with healthier salads (well, sum might say that this is not simple as it has prolonged effect on your health haha)? Would you buy cheap airline tickets in trade of less convenience time?

But it can get more serious, like…would you work faster with lower quality? would you rather work on sumthing that you enjoy doing for less pay? would you trade quality time with your family for career?

Even SUPERMAN has a tough tradeoff to make, safe the world or be with Louis (where is this come from )

Other than the complexity of the decision and the tradeoffs, there are two other things that are also important: the type of decision maker and the time available to make decision.

Some people are more decisive than others. So, they can decide quickly and firmly (lucky you!!!)…but some are more “careful” to a point of being indecisive.

What can we do if we fall in this indecisive category? Being a Libra (yeah i know not all of u believe in these kind of thing), it seems that I am destined to fall into this category. So let me share some of my experience

As mentioned above we must first assess the situation. Is it a big problem with serious consequences? It might seem very easy for some people to separate important problems with less important ones. But, to others, whether they realise it or not, the boundry between simple and complex is not that clearcut Girls, have you ever enter dozens of stores to find the shoes that is perfect for you? Boys would say,”Just pick one, you’ll look good in it anyway”. Well, at least its a good compliment in comparison to,”Its not even gonna change anything whether you choose this one or that one”. (GRRRR, show some sensitivity, people ) But, for this kind of problem, I have to agree that sometime the effort to make the decision is much greater than the consequences. Unless you put a real time limit for your effort, then it might go endlessly hahaha…

So that brought us to the second factor: time. How long do you have time before you make the decision? If you have forever (which is unlikely) then thinking through every options is good. But, if you have very limited time, then we are forced to be able to go through all the options and come at the rite decision!

What I’m trying to say is, those that have the tendency to be indecisive decision maker could use a bit of practice to assess the situation and time better…Think first if prolonging the decision is worth the effort and consequences. If the consequences of the decision is not that huge then FORCE yourself to decide quickly! Yup, force hahaha…Afterall, there are a lot of bigger problems that are worth the effort…

Yes, lets concentrate more on big problem…For such problem, give yourself more time to consider all the options and their consequences until you come to a point where you think, yeah, thats the best decision that I can come up..When you’ve reached this point, it usually doesnt matter what the end result is, cause you will have to live with it anyway…

Sometimes, this would require us to have a really “positive” attitude. In most cases, we cant decide because we are too afraid of the consequences if we made a wrong decision. But, wise man says, we cant improve if we never make mistakes..so set yourself free from any burden and you’ll fly…

Yeah, it is easier said and done, rite? Dun worry, you are not alone. I am still practicing myself, hahaha…

But one thing is for sure: difficulty is a part of life that make it colourful…When everything is decided for you then life would be mundane, wouldnt it ?

Let’s finish off with a track that currently conquer my playlist

Sometimes love comes around
And it knocks you down
Just get back up
When it knocks you down

Currently…

Trying to fit in with a new office…

Trying to cope with so many deadlines…

But, all is under control as I am also currently enjoying the sound of Daniel Powter! Yeah, he’s the guy you probably know for singing that song

Because you had a bad day
You’re taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don’t know
You tell me don’t lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don’t lie
You’re coming back down and you really don’t mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Honestly, I thought that he would be a “One Hit Wonder” too…but, I stumble across his new video a couple of months a go…and it goes..

And I’m so lonely you’re not here with me
thats why I’m gonna be on the next plane home
And you’re you’re the only face I wanna see
thats why I’m gonna be on the next plane home

Simple lyrics, catchy tunes…and it got me hooked…Then there are also “Love You Lately”, “Best of Me”…Its no wonder critics compared him to Elton John and Billy Joel for his piano-based singing.

You know i’m hoping you sing along
I know it’s not your favorite song
Don’t wanna be there when there’s nothing left to say
You know that some of us spin again
When you do, you need a friend
Don’t wanna be there when there’s nothing left for me
And i hate to thought of finally being erased
Baby that’s the best of

Ahhh (swooooon)…Thank you Mr. Powter for rescuing my days

OSCAR!

Yeah, its finally the time for the event that movie fans worldwide has been waiting for. Yup, its time for the Oscar!!!

If you are genuinely interested about movies, you are probably waiting to see if Brad Pitt and Kate Winslet would finally get their first oscar, and if Danny Boyle and his Slumdog Millionaire will take home best movie. Of course there are those who watch the Oscar purely to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, to see what they are wearing etc etc…

As somebody who really enjoys watching movies, I have been following the oscars year after year. Not that it totally defines what I watched (cant imagine the academy would even noticed my personal favourites like While You Were Sleeping or My Girl :D), but it does influences my watch list. I would not immediately choose to watch Mystic River or As Good As Its Gets if it weren’t for the Oscar buzz that they received hehe…and most of the time I agree with what the academy has chosen…As a kid I watched BenHur and was so thrilled by it. As a teenager I wept over Rain Man and get a fright over The Silence of The Lambs.

I also enjoy watching the ceremony itself to see how somebody that has worked so hard get recognised and acknowledged. Still fresh in the memory is the nite when Titanic and The Lord of The Rings took best movies. And how Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts and Halle Berry shed their tears of joy as they took the oscar for best actress in the Leading Role.

But, my personal interest is on the Best Actor in the Leading Role category

Last year was my personal favourite as I watched the best actor living in the planet took home Best Actor for his fine performance in There Will Be Blood :) A well deserved one!!! In fact it is in this category that I mostly disagree with the Oscar By now, Daniel Day- Lewis should have four oscars in his credit They gave him his first Oscar playing a writer with Celebral Palsy, Cristy Brown in My Left Foot, and his work was pure brilliance. Then, he got nominated for his fiery performance as wrongfully imprisoned Irishmen in In the Name of the Father…but they gave the Oscar to Tom Hanks in Philadelphia…I have nothing against Tom, but I think Daniel acting was so moving. Then, he got nominated once again playing Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York. Though the movie makes me squirm over its violence, Daniel is imppeccable! Yet again he lose to Adrien Brody…Well, you might argue that my opinion is biased  But just look at his movies and see how diverse his roles are and how many impacts he brought into his character. To me, the man has got his own league

Now, back to the Oscar…

Sadly, this year, I have not watched any of the movies who got nominated. Not even The Dark Knight hiks hiks. So I have not got a personal favourite. Purely watch to enjoy the event, and of course I am waiting to see if that particular gentleman would come and present at the nite…Phwaaa…Cant hardly wait!!! Perhaps not the live telecast cos I’ve got a real work to do

But that day my head will certainly be filled with “And the oscar goes to…”

The danger of…

Focusing too much on a certain goal!

It certainly is a good thing to have your mind focus on achieving your goal…but wise man said that it is the journey to get there that matters…I wont argue with this (although I am sure most of us will still focus on the end result, rite ). But there is another side that I just realised..

(In true Carrie Bradshaw style “I cant help but wonder…”)

What would you do when you achieve your goal?

Well, this is exactly what I feel right now. For a while, I’ve been gearing up toward this journey to Japan. Now, that is all over, I found myself feeling a bit hollow…and contemplate
What’s next

A little too late rite?