Nagoya & Kyoto Through My Dad's Eyes

My Dad took R2 for a week trip to Nagoya & Kyoto. Its amazing how the camera can go even further than the owner does. Me, myself I've never been to Japan and it will be on my adventure-list right after Southeast Asia Escape, UK, & The States. I guess I'm gonna save my second Europe trip for pre-weds. (BIG amen to that! I mean to the soulmate, Europe can wait haha) =p

Anyways, I took the liberty to randomly select some of my Dad's shots and edit it further to enhance the beauty of the cities. Call it a Dad & Son project. I'm glad to found out that my Dad now is up to par with me enthusiastically in photography. And maybe in some case, way more excited than me, like he's now taking a casual course with his friend, a pro photographer. Also for this trip he borrowed his friends 55-250mm Lens. And now he already signed himself in for a photo competition.

Wow, that was fast Dad. I remember two months ago when I wanted to get a 7D you're still blank, and now you're forcing me to get an L-Lens. No complaint though. I'm all smile for that. We can share investment in lenses & equipments then =D.

Love,
Your Beloved Son

p.s: R2 is the name of my camera. you gonna hear him often. =)

See the full gallery on posterous

Two Best Covers of Man In The Mirror

Just wanted to share what I think is the two best covers of MJ's original. The song itself has finally caught up on me and influence me in many ways. Especially for a wordgeek like me, the lyrics are just an inspiration in itself. Added the harmony and the melodies, its officially my all-time-favorite. Thank you MJ, you da' man! And yeah, smile on, shine on peeps. Rubs. =)

http://www.youtube.com/v/5dzAbn0A4Ic&hl=en&fs=1
James Morrison's version is just wow-ing. His voice added more weight on the song emotionally.

http://www.youtube.com/v/aNZJgjbHLy0&hl=en&fs=1
And this one, my favorite Youtube Star at the moment, Gabe Bondoc. Love the glasses dude. And yes, like you always did, you bring the groove into the song. *thumbs*

One Good Thing Will Lead to Another

I was late today. I supposed to get into office as early as 8.29 cause one minute after it will turn 8.30 -- meaning: L-A-T-E (yes in that striking red color). And so this morning I clocked in at 8.38.

I hate being late. I don't like being late. And I don't want to be perceived as 'punctually challenged'. And so I started to ponder. Let's do a bit of backward thinking. Why was I late? Could it be that I was late because I overslept? YES! And why did I woke up late? Ah, that must be my tendency to sleep late. Why did I sleep late? Because I can't sleep early. Why can't? Cause I'm well adjusted with late-night browsing, chatting, twitter-ing and blackberry-ing, movies or whatever activities to entertain me.

Now, let's do some forward thinking. Nine minute can make a whole lot of difference. Let's say my boss arrived on time, and she had something important to do with me, and she looked for me. Let's say its a prospective customer looking for a rough-terrain crane. I wasn't there. By the time I got into office, the offer might have been passed on to other. And there I just lost a 2-billion worth of deal.

And, just for fun some triple-fast-forward thinking. Now that I missed it. I might not be able to reach my target. And since I can't reach my target, no extra bonuses whatsoever at the end of the month. And since there's no bonus, I will have to postpone my further investment in camera and lenses (aiming for a Canon L Lens 24-70mm f/2.8 at this moment). And since I postponed the lenses, I might not be able to capture the photos I wanted. I might missed the opportunity to catch that beautiful frame of the recently appearing rainbow-on-sunset. And that means I won't be posting any new photoworks here or to my Tumblr. Which if I had the amazing rainbow photos uploaded, somebody might bump into my page and get very well interested to the point of hiring me as her photographer for her pre-wed.

Am I talking nonsense? I suppose not.

What if I forgo that one hour of late-night activities, whatever that is. That would grant me an extra hour of rest. Meaning, I will be able to wake up on time and fresher of course. And get to office on time. Etc.Etc. You know where I'm going.

In conclusion, could it be that one good thing leads to another? (and vice versa) I suppose very much possible. It's just a decision away. A decision to be discipline. Each and everyone of us has the equal chance to make that decision daily. Be wise.

Smile on, Shine on.
Rubs

Philip Seymour Hoffman Starring in Beverly Hills Chihuahua?!!

[Post in Indonesian, English viewers may scroll this. Cheers]

Saya tidak bercanda loh kawan-kawan. Buktinya tuh di foto di bawah. Jadi sebelum kalian bikin group di FB dengan nama "500.000 Orang Untuk Menutup Spam Penipuan Dari Posterous'nya Ruby" saya mau klarifikasi bahwa tidak ada rekayasa di sini, saya masih punya bon'nya kalau mau. Dan lagi santay aja kali, serius amat. Hehe.

So, here's what happen, last week I took an impulsive trip (blame my co-captain for saying 'yes' when I suggested it =p) to one prominent book-store in Karawaci. Saya senang sekali dengan toko buku ini karena menurut hemat saya mereka cukup lengkap dan mempunyai pilihan yang luas terutama untuk fiksi dan non-fiksi Kristen. Dan seperti biasanya sayapun tenggelam kegirangan dan merajalela ke seluruh sudut-sudutnya, melihat-lihat DVD dan sebagainya. Tiba" saya lihat ada wajah Philip Seymour Hoffman dan Meryl Streep bersamaan. Pikir saya "wah dua aktor/aktris hebat ini dalam satu film pasti sadis ni jadinya". Setelah menyimak sinopsis dengan cepat, saya putuskan untuk membeli. Lalu saya lihat price-tag'nya. Sekali lagi saya WAH! karena harganya cuma 79,000 Rupiah. Okay, harga film ini untuk penikmat film saya termasuk kategori 'cuma', jadi sebelum kalian menyebut saya sombong saya sekali lagi klarifikasi dulu. By the way, ini new release loh, jadi itu alasan kedua kenapa saya bilang 'cuma'.

Lanjut! Saya pun masih belum menyadari kejanggalan ini sampai saya men-zoom mata saya dari jarak fokus 24mm ke 50mm dan menemukan ternyata salah gila men price tag'nya. Tertawalah saya sebahak-bahaknya ditemani dengan co-captain saya yang tawanya lebih menggelegar dari saya. Seketika itu pula saya tercetus ide sambil mengernyitkan alis sebelah seperti seorang teman penulis saya yang terkenal dengan gerakan alis sebelahnya. Saya putuskan untuk tetap membelinya tanpa komentar apa-apa dan melihat reaksi dari kasirnya. Pasti kocak pikir saya.

Berjalan lah saya ke counter dan menyerahkan dua keping DVD itu. Sungguh detik-detik yang menegangkan. Setengah dari hati saya ingin supaya mereka menemukan kesalahan itu sehingga saya akan sok-sok tidak jadi beli dan mereka bisa belajar dari kesalahan itu. Setengahnya lagi menahan untuk tidak berkata jujur dan membuka kejanggalan itu secara terang-terangan. Maka keping pertama di-scan barcode'nya. Tampillah jelas-jelas di layar komputer "Beverly Hills Chihuaha" namun sang kasir tidak menyadari kontras yang jelas dengan judul film yang tertera di cover DVD yaitu "Doubts".

Alhasil, melenggang lah saya keluar dari toko-buku dengan aman seperti tidak terjadi apa-apa.

Pembelajaran dari pengalaman saya ini:

(1) You are who you hire.
I believe every organization is a sum of its people. Toko buku ini perlu benar-benar memperhatikan staf. Orang-orang ini lah ujung tombak anda. Tidak ada lagi alasan di jaman sekarang untuk memperkerjakan orang karena dia paling kompeten sekaligus bersedia dibayar dengan gaji terendah. Anda perlu mencari orang yang memang mempunyai passion di posisi dimana dia ditempatkan dan juga interest terhadap core-business company anda. Saya pun sempat meminta mencarikan sebuah buku dan staf yang melayani tampak kebingungan dan sampai lima-belas menit kemudian masih belum ada hasilnya. Well, highquality people pasti paralel dengan highvalue. That's what you get for cheap labor. Oh, don't get me wrong, you get one satisfied customer! Which is me, cause I got my DVD at much lower price than it should be (119.000 to 79.000). =p

(2) Excellence means going to details.
Sekali lagi people. And people. And value yang anda taruh di dalam mereka. Excellence is a key value. Anda harus bisa temukan orang-orang yang setia kepada perkara-perkara kecil dimanapun posisi mereka. Di bagian kasir yang mungkin tidak sebegitu menarik dibanding store manager bisa menjadi kunci untung atau rugi'nya sang toko buku di dalam kasus saya. Bayangkan kalau si kasir benar-benar excellent dan memperhatikan kejanggalan itu, store-manager akan sangat berterima kasih kepadanya. Mungkin rewardnya kecil, namun dia sudah menyelamatkan toko buku itu dari kerugian sebesar 40.000 Rupiah.

Ya semoga saya dari petikan kisah singkat ini kita bisa belajar. Pembelajaran sekecil apa-pun tetap sesuatu yang berharga. Semoga bermakna bagi anda.

Tersenyumlah, Bersinarlah!
Rubs

*poof*

these steps precede you and me

it was the first of the rest, too many it shortens us
and we double the pace, and we run from our best
and then comes the second from the last
far, far too many it squeezes us

these trails follow you and me

it overcame and you hide, slowly it watches us fall
we overjoyed and we fight, it overruled and you lied
it separates and it dies
way, way slowly it paves our fall

*poof*

then and there you go
then and there
off
you
go ...

----
I find writing therapeutic. Poetry to be exact. It allows me to cage that sudden rush of uncontainable feelings into words. Left it there and simply move on with my life. Those less susceptible to artistry might not get this right away. But sometimes or should I say many times, words come to me and its just untameable. Sure I can postpone it, but sooner or later it needs to be ventilated. These writings is not always about things happening to me.

I used a lot of I but not always in the sense of me. I used a lot of you but not always in the sense of you. I used a lot of she but not always in the sense of her.

If you like to reach out for more of my random musings, bookmark this: http://lyricalrelease.tumblr.com (the url is still subject to change though, so inputs are more than welcomed)

Smile on, Shine On
Rubs

Occupational Hazard

Go and watch 'How To Train Your Dragon' cause that's where I picked off this term. It will help you aligned with what I'm sharing here.

If you're a salesperson then its almost 99.9% guaranteed you'll be calling out 100 random people a day out of your company's database. So don't come crying to your boss saying you can't possibly deal with it.

If you're a graphicdesigner, out of so many design options that you propose to your client, there will always be revision and refinement. And out of so many clients that you have there will always be one that reject your whole proposal. So stop complaining about why your company has to put 'customer satisfaction' in one of their premises/values.

If you're a teacher, one of those days you'll definitely bump into a punk-a** kid who gonna put your patience on trial. So be prepared, there are 1000 variations of kids nowadays. Save your anger for another day.

If you're a full-time doctor and its on your watch, then there'll be no excuses for "I haven't eat anything since morning, let me have my Chocolate All Over Cake and I'll be back for the surgery". So eat your cakes while surgery! Life's on stake.

Any profession of your choice, it comes in a package. The ups and downs. There's no point in blaming, cursing, or bursting out in anger. They're occupational hazard so the Viking in the movie said. They will always co-exist. So, how to deal with it? The Vikings took it as a challenge. Its one of those things you just gotta keep doing no matter what. Will you treat the downs as a challenge the next time it occur? Up to you. Cheers.

Oh, and being a daughter, son, wife, husband, sister, etc, that's occupation too.

Smile On, Shine On.
Rubs