Minggu, 30 September 2012
Sabtu, 29 September 2012
Friends To The End
Joanie Willis met Lisa Pierot in the courtyard of Sanibel's Community Church. It was 1996, and Lisa had been struggling with Stage 4 breast cancer - aggressive cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and left her a physical and emotional wreck.
Joanie said "Hi" and reached out to shake hands. Lisa fell directly into Joanie's body, nested into her arms and cried: "I'm going to die."
Joanie declared right back: "Oh, no, you are not."
After that, they were best friends, stuck together. Through Lisa's chemo and stem-cell replacement, through baldness and vomiting, through screaming at each other and holding on to each other, through crying and laughing. Through living.
Because Joanie knew Lisa, from that first moment in the church courtyard. Joanie knew what it was like to survive incredible odds. She beat Stage 4 lung cancer. Since that day, Joanie and Lisa helped each other survive.
On Friday, just hours after Lisa passed away, quietly, in her sleep, after the cancer had infiltrated her liver and her bones, Joanie cried - for her friend and for herself.
"Part of this is so selfish," she said. "It's like, no one else will know what it is like to have cancer. Since I have had it, since I still struggle with blood tests and everything, since we did all of that together..."
For them, cancer was the third member of the trio, the uninvited guest who would sometimes leave but always threaten to return. But cancer did leave for so many wonderful moments. And it was those moments that Joanie remembered most vividly on Friday, when she wrote about her friend:
"I met Lisa 10 years ago, years that seem so fleeting now. Years I want back. Today, all I can remember is the good times. And, man, did we have good times: The trips we took, the 'spa days,' the house decorating, book tours, how she loved to cook for me, gardening together, movies, shopping and our 'soul talks.' Thousands and thousands of soul talks. And politics! We spent an entire week in a cabin in the mountains and sat spellbound watching the Gore/Bush election debacle in 2000. That week she cooked and taught me embroidery, while I cleaned up her trail of messes. We both yelled at the TV. It was one of the best weeks of my life.
"She used to keep a journal of 'Joanieism's' - words or sentences I used that didn't mean what I thought. She never corrected me and found them endearing. Only Lisa would find my ignorance precious. If I said 'that little guy has a Hitler complex,' she would laugh and sneak off to add it to her journal. It was years later that my sister finally told me it wasn't Hitler it was Napoleon.
"Who will I call now after Meet the Press on Sunday? Who will come running to hold me close if we have another 9-11? Who will be just as scared during one of my CAT scans as I am? Who will rein in my anger at unimportant things and take the same amount of joy as I do in the silly and mundane? Who will understand the depth of me?
"We raised our kids through the teenage years, we counseled and consoled. We fought and we loved. Mostly we just loved. We shared the fear of having Stage 4 cancer. No small thing that. The tests, the chemo, the surgeries, the uncertainties, the pain of it all. The loss of trusting the future. But when I tell you that when the needles went into one of us, or we were waiting for results for one of us, or we heard good news or bad news about one of us, we laughed. A lot. Much more than we cried."
Candor and comedy, shared with Post readers
Readers of The Palm Beach Post shared much of the laughing and crying with Lisa Pierot, too. Since October 2001, her column, The Metastatic Life, appeared in the Sunday Accent section.
It was apparent from the first that Lisa could pour her heart out with exquisite elegance.
In her first story, she wrote: "I learned from my writing two very important things: First, the only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next. Second - and no one is more amazed by this than me - I'm a survivor. And because I've survived, I have a need to share my story with others...
"My story is just that - mine. It is not a story of profound courage. It is not a story of miraculous healing. It is not a story about a woman who faces death and learns to love and breathe in every precious moment of her life. It's just my story. In sharing it, I hope I might bring understanding and hope into some of your lives."
And she did.
Hundreds and hundreds of Post readers e-mailed Lisa and wrote her letters. When her column would not appear for a week, when she was tired from treatment, readers would call The Post, worried about her. When she wrote about her regrets over her two failed marriages, readers empathized with her. When she shared her grief over the death of her mother, Carolyn, last year, readers cried with her. In the last year of her life, as her daughters Anna and Emily struggled to live without her as she confronted her dependency on painkillers, readers encouraged her.
"There were days that were really tough, and all she had was the e-mails from readers," Joanie said, "and they were enough to sustain her and give her hope."
Lisa wrote to heal, her sister, Cynthia, said Friday. In the process, she helped to heal thousands and thousands of people.
At the end of her first Post column, she wrote: "It was this emotion we call hope that lent me sanctuary from what was otherwise unfathomable - a life without it."
'You are my heart'
Joanie Willis would like Post readers to know two more things about Lisa Pierot: How very witty she was. And, most of all, how much she loved her girls.
Joanie wrote:
"Lisa made me laugh so hard. It made her irresistible. It made her indispensable. We would get on the phone and she would start into one of her funny 'one-woman comedy routines' that left me breathless from laughter. It would last for hours, she was that funny.
"Lisa would walk into a room and command it with her quick wit, her intelligence, her energy, her very presence. She was an eloquent speaker, a determined advocate for those she loved, a caregiver, a sister, a daughter, a romantic, a columnist, my best friend and a mother who adored and loved her children with every fiber of her being.
"Lisa wasn't perfect. Far from it. But today and for always, I will think of only the good, only the best of what she was. Because her best, to me, was exquisite."
Joanie knew that Lisa was declining. She had spent several days at Hope Hospice trying to heal bedsores. Her bladder was bothering her. She hurt, all over. She had decided a few weeks ago to end chemotherapy treatment and she began to talk more about wanting her mother.
"She talked about her mother all the time," Joanie said. "She would say, 'I just want to be with her.' "
On Wednesday, the day before Lisa died, Joanie spoke her last words to her best friend:
"I hope you know how much you are loved," Joanie told Lisa.
"I do," Lisa responded.
"You are my heart," Joanie said.
Lisa gazed at her: "And you are mine."
By Jan Tuckwood, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Minggu, 23 September 2012
Short moral story of True Friendship
Once upon a time, a lonely hawk lived on a tree by a riverside. He was young and handsome. Yet, he had no friends. One day, he saw a beautiful she-hawk sitting on a tree. He wanted to marry her. But, the she-hawk refused to marry him, as he had no friends. “Will you marry me if I make three friends?” he asked her. She said that she would definitely marry him if he made three friends.
The hawk then went looking for friends. While flying, he saw a tortoise. He lived on the other bank of the river. The hawk flew down to him and said, “Dear tortoise, will you be my friend and help me in my hour of need”. The tortoise agreed to become his friend and said, “Call me whenever you need me and I shall come to your side”.
The hawk also promised him his help at any time and then flew in search of the second friend. Soon, he came upon an osprey. The hawk went to it and asked her if she would be his friend and help him in time of his need. The osprey very gladly accepted his friendship and offered her help whenever he needed it. The hawk was glad that he had made two friends.
Now, he went in search of a third friend. He flew over the jungle and saw a tiger. Fearless as he was, he went near the tiger and requested him to be his friend. The tiger readily accepted his friendship. The tiger said, “From now onwards, I am your friend. Nobody will harm you. If anyone tries to harm you, call me and I will be there to help you”.
The hawk was very happy. He thanked the tiger and flew back to the she-hawk., “I have made three friends- a tortoise, an osprey and a tiger. Will you marry me now?” the she hawk agreed to marry him. Soon, their marriage took place. The three friends attended the hawk’s marriage.
After some-months, she-hawk gave birth to two baby hawks. The parent hawks were very happy to have cute little babies. They lived happily in their nest.
One day, two hunters came and sat under that tree. They were tired and hungry. They had not been able to hunt any animal. They decided to catch some fish. But, they couldn’t catch even a single fish.
It was getting dark and the hunters decided to spend the night under that tree. To keep themselves warm, they lit a fire. The fire soared high. The hawk- babies on the tree could not bear the heat and smoke coming out of the fire. They started crying. The Hunters heard their cries. One of them said,” There are birds on this tree. Let us catch them. We shall roast them on the fire and eat them”. The other one agreed.
The hawks heard them and were really worried about the safety of their babies. The she-hawk suggested that they seek help from their friends. The hawk went the Osprey and told her his problem. The Osprey said, “Go home and protect your babies. In the meantime, I shall tackle with the hunters”. The osprey divided into the river and then flew over the fire. The water from her wet feathers fell on the fire. She repeatedly dived into the river and flew over the fire. The water from her feathers put off the fire.
The hunters decided to light the fire again before getting the hawk babies. They started collecting the leaves and the twigs. However, as soon as they lit the fire again, the osprey put it off by diving into the river and letting the water from her feathers fall into the fire.
In the meantime, the hawk went to get help from the tortoise. When the tortoise heard about the hawk’s problem, he said to him, “Do not worry dear friend, I will be there in no time and tackle the hunters in my own way. In the meantime, go and protect your family”.
The hawk flew to the tree and the tortoise reached the tree. He went quite close to where the hunters were sitting and trying to light the fire again. The hunters saw the tortoise and one of them said, “Look there is a huge tortoise. Let’s forget about the hawks and catch this tortoise”.
The other hunter agreed and said, “Let’s tear our shirts and make a rope. We shall tie its one end to the tortoise and other to our waists. Then we will pull the tortoise with all our strength”. The other hunter liked the idea. Soon, they make a rope out of their shirts. They tied one end of the rope to the tortoise’s legs. Then, trying the other end to their waist, they could not pull the tortoise. The tortoise’s strength was much greater than the two hunters were together. It was tortoise who pulled the two men into the water.
Once, inside the water, it was very easy for the tortoise to drag them. Thus, the two hunters fell into the river. With great efforts, they cut the rope that was tied to their waist and swam back to the bank. They were now feeling very cold. They had lost their shirts. They thought of making a fire again.
Seeing those collecting leaves and twigs, the hawk was worried again. Now he flew to the forest and called his third friend, the tiger. He found the tiger at the edge of the forest. When the tiger heard the hawk’s problem, he immediately walked towards the riverbank.
The hunter had now lighted the fire and one of them was preparing to climb the tree to get the hawk babies. Just then, the tiger reached the tree. Seeing the tiger, the hunters ran from there and never came back again.
The hawk thanked all his three friends for their kind and timely help. He also realized that it is very important to have at least a few friends. The female-hawk had been very wise in advising the hawk to make friends before marrying him.
Inspirational story
There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy.One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and
the power that goes along with them. The wise man said, “If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then he went away.
That night the farmer couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy. The next morning h e made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and went in search of diamonds. . He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide. . Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, “Is Hafiz back?” The new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” The wise man said, “Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one.” . The man said, no, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I’ll show you. There are many more.” They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.
What is the moral of this story? There are five morals:
1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds. Opportunity is always under our feet. We don’t have to go anywhere. All we need to do is recognize it.
2. The grass on the other side always looks greener.
3. While we are dyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are dyeing the grass on our side. They would be happy to trade places with us.
4. When people don’t know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it knocks.
5. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The next one may be better or worse, but it is never the same one.
A Wonderful Story of Friendship & Values……
A story tells that two friends were walking
through the desert. During some
point of the journey they had an argument, and
through the desert. During some
point of the journey they had an argument, and
one friend slapped the other one in the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt,
The one who got slapped was hurt,
but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.
They kept on walking until they found an oasis,
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.
They kept on walking until they found an oasis,
where they decided to take a bath. The one who
had been slapped got stuck in the mire and
started drowning, but the friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near
drowning, he wrote on a stone:
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had slapped and
saved his best friend asked him,
“After I hurt you, you wrote in the
sand and now, you write on a stone,
why?” The other friend replied “When someone
hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds
of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone
does something good for us, we must engrave
it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND
AND T O CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person,
an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them,
but then an entire life to forget them.
Send this phrase to the people you’ll never
forget. It’s a short message to let them
know that you’ll never forget them.
- MORAL -
Jumat, 21 September 2012
good night
"Nite Reality""Funny Quote"
I'm trying to read a book on how to relax,
But i keep falling asleep..
G::_:: D Nite:
stay blessd:
Kamis, 20 September 2012
PENTINGNYA BAHASA INGGRIS DI INDONESIA
Dengan semakin berkembangnya ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, kebutuhan untuk mengusai Bahasa Inggris oleh orang-orang Indonesia, terutama para intelektual dan calon intelektualnya (mahasiswa dan pelajar), tampak semakin nyata. Hal ini disebabkan oleh status atau kedudukan Bahasa Inggris di dunia pada saat ini lebih inperior. Bahasa Inggris merupakan salah satu bahasa terbesar di dunia yang dipakai sebagai bahasa komunikasi baik lisan maupun tertulis. Di era globalisasi, kedudukan Bahasa Inggris semakin menguat karena bahasa tersebut dipakai di dalam semua bidang seperti: ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi, komunikasi, politik, ekonomi, perdagangan, perbankan, budaya, seni, dan film.
Bagi Bangsa Indonesia, Bahasa Inggris merupakan bahasa asing pertama yang harus dipelajari dan dikuasai oleh para pelajar dan mahasiswa. Bahasa Inggris, yang semula diajarkan mulai kelas 1 SLTP, sekarang mulai diperkenalkan di sekolah dasar (SD) sejak kelas 4, dan bahkan beberapa sekolah yang mapan mulai memberikan pelajaran bahasa inggris kepada para siswanya sejak mereka duduk di kelas satu. Yang menjadi permasalahan di lapangan adalah adanya kesenjangan antara harapan masyarakat Indonesia yang semakin kuat dalam menguasai Bahasa Inggris secara baik dan ketersediaan sumberdaya manusia (SDM) yang antara lain mampu berpikir secara strategis, mampu melakukan perencanaan, problem solving, dan tindakan secara nyata sehingga tercipta semacam jembatan untuk segera dilakukannya perbaikan dan peningkatan mutu pengajaran Bahasa Inggris di indonesia.
Mengingat Pentingnya Bahasa Inggris baik secara eksternal maupun internal, dipandang perlu bagi Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD) untuk berpartisipasi dalam menyiapkan tenaga kependidikan bergelar Magister (S-2) Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris (english language teaching) yang mampu: (1) berpikir secara kritis dan komprehensif, (2) melakukan perencanaan strategis (strategic planning) yang meliputi: seleksi, pembuatan peringkat atau prioritas, dan presentasi bahan ajar, (3) problem solving, (4) evaluasi, dan (5) kontekstualiasi dengan perkembangan dan kebutuhan masyarakat serta pasar. http://pascapbi.uad.ac.id/pentingnya-bahasa-inggri-di-indonesia/
Bagi Bangsa Indonesia, Bahasa Inggris merupakan bahasa asing pertama yang harus dipelajari dan dikuasai oleh para pelajar dan mahasiswa. Bahasa Inggris, yang semula diajarkan mulai kelas 1 SLTP, sekarang mulai diperkenalkan di sekolah dasar (SD) sejak kelas 4, dan bahkan beberapa sekolah yang mapan mulai memberikan pelajaran bahasa inggris kepada para siswanya sejak mereka duduk di kelas satu. Yang menjadi permasalahan di lapangan adalah adanya kesenjangan antara harapan masyarakat Indonesia yang semakin kuat dalam menguasai Bahasa Inggris secara baik dan ketersediaan sumberdaya manusia (SDM) yang antara lain mampu berpikir secara strategis, mampu melakukan perencanaan, problem solving, dan tindakan secara nyata sehingga tercipta semacam jembatan untuk segera dilakukannya perbaikan dan peningkatan mutu pengajaran Bahasa Inggris di indonesia.Pentingnya Berbahasa Inggris di Era Globalisasi
Dalam dunia modern yang penuh dengan tantangan dan persaingan yang super ketat ini, setiap orang disarankan tidak hanya memiliki tingkat pendidikan yang tinggi, namun juga dituntut ketrampilan khusus yang lazim kita sebut ‘skill’. Salah satu ’skill’ yang paling dibutuhkan saat ini adalah Bahasa Inggris. Sesuai dengan penjelasan di atas, Bahasa Inggris merupakan bahasa global, maka bagi mereka yang ingin selangkah lebih maju dari orang pada umumnya, perlu bahkan harus menguasai Bahasa Inggris.
Banyak orang yang enggan belajar Bahasa Inggris karena merasa terlalu tua untuk dapat menguasai bahasa tersebut. Namun menurut saya, modal utama untuk berbicara bahasa Inggris dengan baik bukanlah usia seseorang, namuan sebesar apa tekad seseorang untuk belajar. Adapun sisi crucial yang harus kita kuasai terlebih dahulu adalah perbendaharaan kata dalam suatu bahasa, atau yang lebih dikenal dengan kosakata. Pengetahuan kosakata dalam bahasa Inggris merupakan modal utama dalam mempelajari bahasa ini. Kosakata adalah hal terpenting dalam mempelajari suatu bahasa. Seseorang yang ingin belajar bahasa baru perlu mendalami pengetahuan tentang kosakata untuk bisa berbicara dengan lancar.
Mempelajari kosakata bukanlah hal yang sulit. Siapa saja bisa mempelajarinya dengan cepat asalkan setelah dipelajari, kosakata harus digunakan sesering mungkin. Kosakata seyogianya diperkenalkan atau diajarkan sejak anak usia dini. Namun, tidak ada kata terlambat bagi siapa saja yang ingin mempelajarinya pada usia berapun.
Saat kita betanya “Kapankah saat yang paling tepat untuk belajar Bahasa Inggris?” Sekaranglah saatnya. Jika kita merasa malu atau gugup saat berbicara Bahasa Inggris, itu bukan salah kita. Jika kita melakukan kesalahan dalam berbahasa Inggris, itupun bukan suatu kesalahan. Mengapa? Karena Native Speaker saja sering membuat kesalahan dalam pronunciation (pengucapan) maupun grammar. Cara mengatasi hal-hal seperti ini sepele saja, yaitu dengan percaya diri yang tinggi serta penguasaan perbendaharaan kata.
Stella Lestari Rore, S.Pd, MBA.
Staf Bagian Humas dan Protokol Kota Manado
Guru Bahasa Inggris
WHAT IS COFFEE
what is coffee?Coffee stands for Community of Fun Easy English.
What is the objective?To facilitate people to s
peak English inclusively as a social community in Samarinda.
Main program
Games
Discussion
Sharing
Social Activities
Place : Balaikota
Day : Sunday
Time : 2 pm
Contact Person
Adri 082157709300
Azwar Aswin 0811586999
Winna Aldar 085246999149
Deden 081347342767
Help us in making Coffee better guys ..
Coz We Care then We Share ..
Amaazziiinnggg ..
Main programGamesDiscussionSharingSocial Activities
Place : BalaikotaDay : SundayTime : 2 pm
Contact PersonAdri 082157709300Azwar Aswin 0811586999Winna Aldar 085246999149Deden 081347342767
Help us in making Coffee better guys ..Coz We Care then We Share ..Amaazziiinnggg ..
Main program
Games
Discussion
Sharing
Social Activities
Place : Balaikota
Day : Sunday
Time : 2 pm
Contact Person
Adri 082157709300
Azwar Aswin 0811586999
Winna Aldar 085246999149
Deden 081347342767
Help us in making Coffee better guys ..
Coz We Care then We Share ..
Amaazziiinnggg ..
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