A Whale & 2 gold-fish

See pictures: 2nd fr top--> Day one in returning from Puncak (without "waterfall"/ filter)
top pic. --> Day 5 today (Dec. 30, Gandaria home). Thank God the two gold-fish (not: fishes) have survived so far. In the morning, around 7.30-9 a.m., they get their D-vitamin sunshines, ho ho ho ....

Last Xmas holiday, a whale was found in Kota Bunga (Puncak) swimming pool, helping 2 tiny gold-fish to escape the immense swimming pool. Ho, ho, you've guessed it right. It was me!
My cousin and I helped 2 tiny gold-fish, accidentally released into the giant swimming pool of Kota Bunga resort. What a sight! I wish nobody took a picture of me, lying relaxedly by the poolside in a deserted-whale position, desperately catching gently 2 gold-fish. Imagine! 2 gold-fish in one hell giant pool!

It was yesterday, and long efforts of surviving the 2 Nemos, such as:
1. Catching them in a 2m.-deep pool with the help of my young cousin;
2. Feeding them with pollen, obtained from Pasadena fishing pond (Kota Bunga);
3. Bringing them down to Jakarta before my aunt cooked them, for God's sake; and
4. Looking for place to change the water and add oxygen otw to Ciawi-Jakarta highway
(Thanks, Ciasin men).

Thanks, now the 2 gold-fish stayed in my 2nd-floor yard in a big pink lunch box once
SMAK Jakarta gave me during Christmas exchange of gifts, I guess. Mm ... here now
the "whale" in an air-conditioned room trying to have a sleep, while my 2 darlings
are swimming in my lunch box under the morning sunshine. Mmm ..... see how cute they are "dating" (see below). BTW, are they males or females or one male-one female? :)

SMAK G.S. websites & weekends

Dear Diary,
What a week! Quite tiring emotionally,
while I'm still recovering my osteoarthritis, esp. at my ankle joint, sigh!

As usual, I updated SMAK PENABUR Gading Serpong websites at http://www.bpkpenabur.or.id/en/school/smakgsjkt with 6 awards the Brilliant class students year 11 have scored in the past 2 weeks, and the result of physics olympiad training.
Check it out guys as I also include other schoool's achievements as well. Wink!

Now what have I done this weekend? Well, e-mailing on some students' delayed submissions,
my submitting exam problems for the foundation, just entering marks to
Cambridge class year XII through SMAK 1 BPK PENABUR Bandung web at
http://www.smak1bpkpenaburbandung.or.id (thanks, webmaster Mr. Rudi, for giving
me tips how to add more tests) and voila! A stop at the Puri Indah mall yesterday.

I had been informed of SMPK 7 PENABUR Jakarta performance on guzheng
(Chinese zitter) at Puri Indah Mall at 3 p.m. yesterday, and a sudden notice
the night before let me know to stop by at the BPK PENABUR stand for some
possible inquiries on Brilliant class programs. Yes, I did drop by for +/- 2 hours.
At least 2 of the 4 parents were interested in dropping by the school with boarding
houses, while the other 2 worried if their kids could not stand the burden of
studying in the Brilliant class. You bet!

And yes, the guzheng performance was one unique thing to observe.
6 secondary school girls of SMPK 7 and their instructor, Ms. Yuli, performed
4 songs, but what surprised me, and the audience, was the performance of
the modern dance groups! 2 of the 6 participants registered came from
SMPK 7! And what rocked was the year 8 dance (I was teaching them English)
ended their dance on the stage with a "chain falling" of bodies
with a thump/hit on the 3-meter board near the backdrop, swaying it.
What a roar! The audience cheered as well. Haah.

Well, here I am now, on Sunday, relaxing, ready to dine my fried rice
with meatball, and dashed to ITC Permata Hijau. Got to replace my
dying mobile phone with a new one, I meant, a second/used one :)

Love,

Sir

Joy and Sorrow be4 Halloween

What a week I have experienced! As usual, there have been happy as well as sad moments. Anyway, life is not what we have expected always, isn't it? Well, there are at least three experiences making me smile and joyful before tomorrow's Halloween day, mm .... pretty horrible moment, eh? There are a few sorrows I have experienced lately.

First, Brilliant classes (B.C.) of SMAK PENABUR Gading Serpong have disappointed me ... a matter of less communication from the side of students, I guess. Hardly did anybody respond to my Sept. 29 email on the short stories competition from http://www.deplu.go.id, deadline tomorrow, Oct. 31st, 2008. Even several sms to 3 Year 11 B.C.ers hit the bottomless well.

Furthermore, only 3 B.C. Year 10 students have submitted their Oct. 28, 2008 summary assignment on Oct./Nov. Newsweek/ Reader's Digest/ National Geographic/ Scientific American by email until today afternoon. Well, well, on the second thought, maybe they have already got a lot of experiments in their science lab. as well as tutors and a bunch of assignments, which, sigh, must have been MUCH more important than this poor English teacher's assignments.

However, beyond the storm, there is a rainbow. First of all, I'm getting attached to SMPK 7 PENABUR Jkt students today. Oral quiz with very enthusiastic replies on vocabulary/reading questions on "Mexico City" and "Norwich" texts in the "Challenges" textbook. It's a pity, though, I'm just a substitute teacher here. I wish I were their full-time teacher!

In addition, this early morning, I could not find the morning prayer copies for SMPK 7 teachers, yet ... the Sunrise school hotspot was working in the library! We held the English morning prayer via http://www.odb.org with songs "Jesus loves me".

Next, my relative sent me sms, informing the money transfer back to my account for the loan. What a surprise!

In conclusion, life is full of joys and sorrows. Your wish is not necessarily another's wish. Just set an example to others, such as returning students' test paper, like what I did today in SMPK 7, and minding my own business in teaching English only in Brilliant classes. Yeah, I guess I need not bother other affairs, such as the competitions and the activities not related to my subject ... is that the best system?

Eni, Mama, brother and me: Inspiration of Guzheng (GKJ, Dec. 2006)

More than a year before the August 2008 "100-Guzheng concert" in Plaza Semanggi, Eni played the Inspiration of Guzheng in Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ), in collaboration with lots, lots of artists, playing traditional and modern musical instruments, including zitters from West and East Java. Read from Kompas national newspaper coverage (archive) at: http://64.203.71.11/kompas-cetak/0612/22/muda/3158254.htm

Poses (l-r): Kiki, Mama, Eni, and me. Thanks for Rizal, our friend, for sending us the picture this week .

About Brilliant Class by mid-Sept. 2008

Next is the progress report about Brilliant Class SMAK PENABUR Gading Serpong
where I was once the Head of Dorm, and have now been one of the English teachers
since 2007:

Utk kls 11 (angkatan ke1), per mid-Agustus sudah dipecah jadi 4 jurusan Olimpiade:
Fisika, Matematika, Kimia, Biologi.
Jadi 18 siswa dipecah jadi 4 kelas “super mini” sesuai peminatan (total 18 jam).
Dosen, seperti biasa, Master and Doctor dari Surya Institute, LIPI, ITB dan UPI Bandung, termasuk 2 instruktur Biologi yang doktor lulusan Jepang dan Australia.
Ada juga pilihan materi Cambridge utk informatika (ICT).

Utk Cambridge Math dan Cambridge Physics wajib semua18 siswa ikut, kecuali 2 siswa
yang lagi training intensive di Karawaci utk Physics dg. team Prof. Yohanes Surya sejak
2008, serta 1 siswa lagi yang join 30 besar training permid-Oktober nanti.

Prestasi baru 1 medali perak OSN 2008,dan 3 siswa lolos ke top 30 besar
per-mid Oktober 2008.

Utk kelas 10 (angkatan ke-2): 36 jam dari 51 jam (@45 menit) diberikan utk
Math, Fis, Kim, Bio. plus ekstra tutorial diasrama sejak awal semester ini dimulai
dg. Matematika, lalu Agustus dg. Fisika dan akhirnya di sekolah: extra Kimia.
Sejak Agustus juga berbagai eksperimen Biologi, dan akhirnya Kimia dan Fisika (Sept.)
diberikan di luar jam pelajaran.

Jadi promosiiiiii neh, tapi yah biar ada KESEMPATAN adik2 kalian yang berbakat olimpiade/ ber-IQ and EQ tinggi, dapat diarahkan lebih muantap masuk B.C. 2009/2010.

Oh, yah, seminggu ini B.C. kelas 10 dan 11 juga aktif berpartisipasi utk aksi sosial teman2
kelas regular SMAK GS(pasar murah). Lalu, B.C. saja dan guru2 TK-SMAK GS
menyelenggarakan buka puasa dan pemberian hadiah cleaning service, pesuruh serta
satpam Kompleks G.S. Okay, gak, guys? Kelas 11 sekarang tahun lalu dibimbing
Ms. Coral (native speakerof English lalu) bina hub. dg. panti asuhan anak Ambon di Bintaro.

P.S. Utk training SAT (Scholastic Aptitute Test) utk test masukke Amerika, kelas 11 B.C.
sudah menyelesaikan 40 jam x 45 menitdari total 80 jam x 45 menit utk test SAT 6 Desember
2008 dan24 Januari 2009. Instruktur: native speaker of English lulusan
MIT Electrical Enginering.

Utk feedback dan kritik membangun, please address to brilliant[at]bpkpenabur.or.id.
Penerimaan siswa 2009/2010 Brilliant Class akan segera dilaunched pasca Lebaran 2008.

Akhirnya, utk kurikulum dan info Brilliant Class SMAK PENABUR Gading Serpong
(2 versi bahasa utk web ini), click di:
http://www.bpkpenabur.or.id/en/node/3463
dan juga web SMAK G.S. di: http://www.bpkpenabur.or.id/id/school/smakgsjkt

Salam,“Sir” Teguh
1,5 bulan Head of Dorm kelas 10, 2008
Salah 1 guru Inggris Brilliant Class sejak 2007

The hurricane has calmed down ...

Finally, my 4-week arthritis (since Aug. 9), thought to be just flu attacking bones/joints, subsided. As Hanna hurricane weakend in Mexican gulf this week, so did my pain. No more antibiotics, just medicine for my pain and ... itch. Almost 2 weeks I felt terribly itchy in most of my legs and part of my arms. Wow ... must be something to do with the recovery and my diabetes.

Thank God, and thank to the schools where I am teaching for their understanding:
1. SMPK 7 (3 days/week): lending me the library, where students alternately come for my English lessons, CD-ROM play, test and games sessions.
2. SMAK Gading Serpong (only on Tuesdays): lending me the Bio. lab., with a ready multi-media (LCD projector) facility.
3. SMAK 1 Bandung: it happened there are two times holidays on Mondays, my teaching day. Tomorrow, year 12 bilingual class are going to Bali, another break, though I've got to teach year 10 (4 classes).
4. Gading Serpong dormitory: I used to be a patron for 1.5 months until Aug. 29, and the students there kept praying for me during their evening devotion time. So touching!

For what has happened, I learnt one thing. Give up/ surrender everything to God, and He'll know and provide you the best. Thanks as well to Mr. Agus, M.D. (foundation doctor), attentive teachers in SMPK 7 and my family, especially my dad, who once cooked me, and once, insisted on moving an office chair with wheels (not a wheelchair) to the room. Sigh! Embarassing, yet touching, eh?

Fever/Flu attacking joints/bones?

What a terrible week this time. After last week I had a few sneezes, last weekend I did not catch a cold, yet I suffered from a fever and I was shivering even at night. Never have I been paralyzed by such "light, seemingly harmless" influenza, and what surprised me is I have not been able to walk as fast as I could before. I have to do steps by steps slowly, feeling pain at my joints both the ankles, and wrists. Even my shoulders!

Luckily my foundation doctor, dr. Agus Sinatrawan, prescribed me two medicines to heal the flu and reduce the joint pain, on my very first report via sms on Sunday morning. Rest in Bandung for the full day, prepared to say goodbye to my 1.5-year boarding house the next morning, yet the pain at my joint refused to subside. To make it short, when I returned to Jakarta and had a meeting with some Board members, I had time to go to Bio Medika, jl. Arjuna, and had the pleasure to try out a wheelchair on my request, ha ha ..., and got my blood taken to test the rheumatics, uric acid (asam urat) and some blood check. Gosh! So anxious was I to have the result sent today afternoon.
FUNNY STORY:
Dr. Agus earlier that day prescribed me 4 extra tablets due to the continuing pain, and voila! This Wed. at 2 a.m., when I still could not sleep, I successfully walked down my bed in the Brilliant class dorm easily, spatted at least 4 blood-thirsty mosquitoes in my room, something which I could not easily do the other night due to my pain in my wrist and shoulder. Gee! Of course, it must have been the prayer in the boys dorm when we had a 9p.m. devotional time at the dorm.

I hope, guys, I could get back to my work normally. Please pray for me.

Exciting learning technique at SMPK 7!

I've been an English teacher for five year 8 classes here at SMPK 7 Sunrise Garden, W. Jakarta, since mid-July 2008 as a substitute class. I was a teacher at SMP Regina Pacis in 1993-1996, and at SMPK 5 BPK PENABUR Bandung in 2005-2007, yet I felt a bit nervous here.
After two weeks of struggles and patience with these cheerful, a bit talkative class, finally I have found a way to cheer them up. Oral quiz!! By using the module 1 in "Challenges", these youngsters were crazy for raising their hands to answer vocabulary (synonyms, opposites/antonyms/translations) and some reading comprehensions on the topic "Boarding Schools". At least 25 questions in 30 minutes.
Gee. What a bit noisy interaction. I wish the other classes next door had not been disturbed. I truly enjoyed my new finding about what kind of activity matched their appetite ;)
Now, got to think of what I will be doing with those not having points as only 15 of 37 students in each class, on average, have got some points. Mmm ... any idea? Pointing them one by one?

Weekend in Dormitory

My first weekend in dormitory. None of the boys stayed on weekends. Well, after dropping three boys from another dorm, I pampered myself with a 1-hour foot massage in front of the Serpong Gold and Sports Club. Twins Adi and Ari, and Noel accompanied Ricky, the birthday boy turning 16 today, in the swimming pool. Only 16,000 rupiahs (50% discount until July 31st for those below 17 years old).

Well, finally, we strolled in Karawaci Supermall, and after light dinner, Ricky bought his friends in his year 11 dorm some Holland cakes. Mm ... yummy must be! ;)

When I returned to my dorm, thank God, the furnitures and other facilities have completed the year 10 dorm, such as 14 sets of tables and chairs, a big compo (double-deck tape and CD) as well as the permanent TV antenna. Mmm ... a surprise for the dorm boys!

Touching sharing in a book launching in Bandung!

Today, I could not help holding my teardrops. 2007/2008 SMAK 1 Bandung principal, Mr. Iwan, launched his autobiography, and shared a lot of memorable experience, both joy and sorrow. Mr. Iwan succesfully charmed everybody with his sincere and dynamic voice.
Never would I have realized the profession of a teacher or a principal could mesmerized the audience's feeling. Threat from a few students, and challenges in basketball competition, and some government policies in education were just some of the unforgettable parts of life of Mr. Iwan. His loyalty for 40 years of teaching and becoming Principal of SMAK 2 and SMAK 3, and finally since 1988 as Principal of SMAK 1 Bandung has moved my emotion. Who am I compared to one Iwan.

This moment came after a 2-hour sharing in Grand Ballroom of Papandayan hotel, Bandung, with current principal Ms. Boniwidiarti, and her staff's explanation on academic (e-learning info), and student affairs, came a break and a moment of waiting for the maestro Iwan.

Food hunting on return trip Bali, Jogja, Bandung

Well, well, just a bit sharing on the wonderfully tasty and exotic food/cuisine in Bali island during my holiday there:

A. On the way to Bali: Bromo Asri, Probolinggo city, East Java
Spring roll (risoles) with salty brown sauce and fried round cake filled with seaweed.

B. In Bali island:
1. NAGA (Dragon), a Chinese resto in Kuta road: round table dinner with
sapo taufu seafood (beancurd) and fried squid as two of six menu items.

2. A JOY noodle (4 chain food stalls), two are at Teuku Umar road and Tiara Dewata.
Taste fried chicken noodle, special red fried rice, and chopped fried chicken
with sweet sauce. A Joy is also my cousin, ehm!

3. Titiles store:
very famous store selling minched meat (abon): shrimp, pork, chicken, and beef.
Also famous for having 4 tigers and lions and a big snake.

4. ANDA Jawa Timur resto:
East Javanese menu with special beef soup (rawon), Chinese dish with two pieces of
chicken (red and yellow sauce), rice (lontong) called Lontong Cap Go Meh.
I ate red-buttered chicken (ayam bumbu rujak) and tasted the Lontong Cap Go Meh.
Oh, try the "melinjo" crackers. Mm ...

5. TIARA DEWATA food court:
A supermarket famous for its more than 20 food stalls.
Try big noodle (kwetiau) also from A Joy noodle (see point 2), small Chinese dishes,
(dim sum) like minched chicken meat (siew mai), pork satay, and exotic juices.
A must-try menu: cakes, such as glutinous rice with tasty powder made of soybean
(ketan bubuk) and cassave cake (sawut). Bought 4. Ha ha ...

C. In Jogja (returning from Bali to Bandung):
Malioboro Mall foodcourt --> spring roll with salad (risoles salad). Yummy!

2 photos: Malioboro Mall and Jimbaran beach

Kungfu Panda 2 new star!! Acting in Malioboro Mall, Jogja.




Me (far right), Nando, Andri, David, Suwanto (SMAK 2 Bdg.) in Jimbaran Beach after dinner

Day 7: Bali-Jogja

Well, the end of the 7-day tour! Here I am now in Jogja, a cultural and educational city. Just arrived, taking turns in taking a bath after having a quick breakfast in still-being-renovated Ramayana - Grage hotel. Mmm ... 10 guys in one room with one bathroom. Better blogging first, ha ha ...

Anyway, planned to take a foot massage (reflexology) on Malioboro road, then have lunch, and return to Bandung. Itinerary: 11p.m. in Bandung, impossible. Luckily, I asked my BPK PENABUR Jakarta office last week to take a leave tomorrow (Saturday) as it will take me 2.5 hours to return to Jakarta from Bandung at dawn! Wow ....

2 unforgettable events:
1. Back to Bali, Day 5, I had a small dispute regarding paying 5,000 rupiahs (+/- US 45cents; normally only 1,000 rupiahs/ 9 cents) for a quick use in DREAMLAND's restroom. At first I complimented the cleanliness and the availability of toiletries, yet it turned out the notice note of charging 5,000 rupiahs was put at the top of the mirror. When I complained that it could have had something to do with taking a bath, the woman in duty said bathing was charged 10,000. Well, one comment for son of former president, Tommy Soeharto, who was said to have invested in this Dreamland: what a good way to raise fund to manage the not-finished-yet surfing heaven and facilities! Sigh.

2. Still on the same day, we have a wonderful dinner in Jimbaran: Blue Merlin resto.
Dinner was served on the shore, just 10m. away from the sea wave, under the clear sky with stars, and added with Cultural dance on small stage, the LEGONG dance. Wow! We had grilled fish, prawns, and shells. Delicious. It was, however, the atmosphere in the air that mattered. Everybody cheered, took pictures and had a wonderful dine in Jimbaran. Thanks, SMAK 2 Bandung, for this exquisite experience!

BALI Holidays!

Another Bali holiday! With SMAK 2 BPK PENABUR Bandung teachers and staff, I am now in Bali islands for a 7-day tour, with stopping by Jogja on Day 7. Now Day 4. Leisure time, swimming in hotel, not joining the Kintamani tour. Then, I am now able to write you a blog, mm ...

After 34-hour travel by bus from Bandung city to Denpasar city, we have visited Bedugul with its breath-taking Brantan Lake, ancient and exotic Tanah Lot (Hindu temple), dined in several exotic restos, such as Bedugul resto (Balinese) and Naga in Kuta (Chinese). My friends were crazy for shopping at Puteri Galuh Batik (traditional clothes) and a silverware shop on the way to Sangeh, kingdom of apes.

We are staying in Denpasar at Nikki hotel, which has its international hotel school at www.nikki-international.com. Just had a swim. Alone ;) Everybody went to Sukowati market to buy "oleh2", or gifts, for relatives/friends in Jakarta. I bought "Rahayu" peanuts, "sale salak" (preserved sweet snakefruit) and "brem"/ distilled (wine) drink as ordered. Time for internet surfing, pizza at noon and strolling with cousins in Bali (again) for this day 4.

Unforgettable events:
On bus : Laughters, jokes, karaoke/ singing
On sites: Breathtaking sunset view from top of cliffs across from Tanah Lot (temple) by the sea, tranquil Brantan Lake (Bedugul) with parasailing and jet ski. I wish I had had the courage to try them all ha ha ...

In restos: At least four dishes each meal, with fried chicken everywhere, some fish, bean curd, noodle of course, hotplat "kangkong" (vegetables) with tasty sauce, or satay. Yummy!! In a minute, I would love to have pizza hut, special offer, 50% from 2-5 p.m. just in Bali (a 2-minute walk from the Nikki hotel). Tonite, a cousin of mine, a chef, promised to send me his specialized delicious Chinese noodles. Ordered 3, sharing with close friends. Mmm ... Got to go asap. Don't be jealous, guys. Be in Bali next holiday, for sure!

Would love to share you my other unforgettable events in this island of God (Day 5) soon
right after I am home in Jakarta this Saturday. Phew!

A joke: In Brantan Lake, Bedugul,
it costs one a Rp. 75,000 to do parasailing, and Rp. 50,000 for water-skiing. If I had taken the parasailing, I may have gotten back my Rp. 25,000 as the parachute could not have lifted me, and I may have ended doing water-skiing with the parachute trailing me back! Ha ha ... don't get it? Well, my friends called me the "Kungfu Panda" with heavy body. That's why.

Christian n Titi Kamal: 2m. fr me!

Unbelievable! I met young throb couple, Titi Kamal and Christian Sugiono! Last night, my niece and I had a meal at Chopstix, Citos (Cilandak Town Square). Suddenly, she told me to look at the couple right next to our table. Gosh! The celebrities. See the photo .

Martha, my niece, is from Bali, taking piano lesson here during holidays. I failed to persuade her to take a picture with them. For goodness, if I were 15 years younger, at my crazy age, I would have directly run to their table and asked for a pose.

Choir concert and reunion

Last Saturday, my church choir named Cavido, which I joined in 1988,
had a concert and a reunion to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. Wow!

What a wonderful celebration, especially
when it did not sing the church songs as its major genre, but voila!
Bee Gees collections. How Deep is Your Love, Words, I Started a Joke,
etc. What made the concert so amazing is:
1. The senior (above 40s) choir with a song
just given by Ivo.
2. The current choir (around 20s-30s), esp. the women,
wears clothes ala Sound of Music kids with, ehm, heavy make-ups.
3. And ... there came the young CHILDREN choir,
daughters and sons of the Cavido-ers. Indonesian children songs,
until Heal the World. They sang so naturally and beautifully.
4. An unforgettable event of awarding our Oma/ Tante Poel
(Pauline Fernandez), almost 30 years with Cavido, and
voila! She's already 87 years old, you know, and at the
earlier establishment of Cavido helped Sister Franceline,
whose interview via video was played, in the choir. Oma Poel
has been with us for almost 30 years as the choirmaster before
being replaced by Atok several years ago.
5. It was such a surprise to have learnt that our favourite guy,
Henni has been loyally accompanying us for 24 years something
since the age of a school boy. An organist! Uedan! Ha ha ...

Well, maybe my blog is getting you bored, but you know.
Not only friendship, but also the atmosphere of being a big, big family
was in the air. Everybody smiled, laughed and blushed as pictures,
slides and videos were shown in the light of the reunion.
Have you ever experienced such moment?

I am truly proud being one of the CAVIDO choir members!
Though I did not sing, and was not its active member anymore
since I took my further study in Bandung in 2005, several times
a year I dropped by in the St. John (Melawai road, South Jkt)
7.30 mass in the 3rd week, and sing a few songs I have once
learnt.

Viva Cavido! Keep up your spirit high and high!

June 21: South Jkt Cavido choir concert

Just dropped by my church choir rehearsal for tomorrow's evening concert (see just some of the gorgeous singers in the picture on the right). The reherasal started at 8.15 p.m., thank God I took a nap. I won't be a singer, just dropping by.

Mm ... quite a surprise to have learnt the musical genres prepared. Not only will the regular church songs be performed, but the 30th Anniversary of CAVIDO church choir (mostly youth in the 20s and 30s) also covers Bee Gees songs. It was my delight to have helped them with some aspirated sounds of the lyrics, such as pronouncing 'talk' with aspirated /t/ in the song "WORDS", and 'try to understand'. Just a small favour. Glad they liked my analogy to how famous actor Ari Wibowo and actress Sophia Latjuba spoke in Indonesian. "Saya thidhak thau khenapha ..."

Here are the details I posted in the mailing list:
indonesian_choral_lovers@yahoogroups.com tonight.
Interested, guys? Well, just join us for free,

except for the humble dinner.

Dear ALL,
June 21 concert (Melawai): 30th Anniversary of CAVIDO

CAVIDO (Cantent in Viis Domini, meaning Singing in the Path of God),
a St. John Choir (Blok B Church, South Jakarta),
invites you to join an evening concert to celebrate its
30th Anniversary in serving at the church on:

Date : this Saturday, June 21st, 2008, 6.30 p.m.
Venue: 2nd floor, St. John building, MELAWAI RAYA 197,
South Jakarta (across from Heritage and Hero)
Theme: "STAYING ALIVE"

Songs:

Church choral songs (Latin and contemporary)

Bee Gees' collections

Staying Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, I Started A Joke, WORDS, etc.

P.S. No ticket charge, except for humble dinner (donation)
Further details,
contact: 0818 155309 with mas Henny /
R.M. Albertus Henny Hindarto.

"Smile an everlasting smile,

a smile can bring you near to me.

Don't ever let me find you down,

cause that would bring a tear to me."

Cordially Yours,

Teguh
A Cavido-er

June-July Holidays! & online materials

Gee ... here come the holidays. Plan to travel to
Bali island and Jogja city. June 28-July 4, 2008
with SMAK 2 Bandung teachers (1 bus).

Contact me, guys,
via my hp: +628151859235 (SMS only, please).

Won't be in the net for a week, I guess .... mmm,
what adventures are coming?
For the mean time, for my
students' online materials, esp. if you're a schoolaholic,
try these out:

1. http://geocities.com/smak3bdg (review)
2. http://surendranath.tripod.com/sat.html (Brilliant class)

Graduation Day of 3 SMAKs Bandung

Hi, it's my first blog though I have my personal web for almost 10 years. http://geocities.com/uget1st. Anyway, I hope my blog doesn't get you bored.

I've been an English teacher for 17 years next Dec. 2009
(see details at the bottom). It was such a wonderful feeling,
yet a bit lonely inside sometimes, when joining 3 graduation
ceremonies of the students I taught in Bandung, all in 2008.
SMAK 1 on June 16, SMAK 3 on June 18 morning and
SMAK 2 on June 18 afternoon.

Flying colours everywhere, especially with mark "10" (perfect)
with SMAK 1 at least 50 marks (Math, Chemistry),
with SMAK 2 5 marks (Math: 2 IPA, and 3 IPS),
and SMAK 3 2 marks (Math IPS).

The celebrations were very academically done, applauses
everywhere, smiles thrown by graduates and teachers
to each other. Snacks at the end, except SMAK 2 with dinner.
In each celebration, I ran home to Jakarta in a hurry, spending
only 2.5 hours out of more than 3.5 hours service and ceremony
I guess, except for SMAK 3 Bandung, which I fully attended.

Yet, something bothers me, you know what?
Though some graduates smiled at me, and some
called me and shook my hands, I felt kind of emptiness
inside me. Pride, satisfaction (including sadness for those
failing the state exams in SMAK 2 and 3), then what?

I went back and forth, Jakarta and Bandung,
yes, bringing home some Bandung brownies for staff
in BPK PENABUR Jakarta (morning prayer session)
and my folks at home, in my own 2.5-hour loneliness
in the cold Cipaganti travel car. What have I done?
What have the graduations done for me?

I do thank SMAK 1 PENABUR Bandung for giving me
and a few Cambridge class teachers appreciation for its
1st graduates' wonderful achievements. Invited on stage!
I do thank SMAK 1, too, for inviting me and most year 12
teachers for helping regular class graduates (me, teaching
bilingual class IPA and regular class IPS) to score "A"
for English and other subjects in state exams (UN 2008).

I believe it's time for me, at my age close to 40, to
be raise my own kids, and see them grow and graduate.
Then, probably, I guess, I may feel totally different
satisfaction! Don't you think so? :)

SDK 7 PENABUR Bintaro (1991-93)
SMP Regina Pacis W. Jkt (93-96)
SMAK 1 PENABUR W. Jkt (93-2001)
SMAK 7 PENABUR E. Jkt (2001-05)
SMAK 3 PENABUR Bandung (2005-08)
SMPK 5 PENABUR Bandung (2005-07)
SMAK 1 PENABUR Bandung (2006-now)
SMAK 2 PENABUR Bandung (2007-08)
SMAK PENABUR Gading Serpong Brilliant Class (2007-now)
SMPK 7 PENABUR W. Jkt (2008-...)