29.4.09

be thankful

"Aku selalu ingin punya sepatu baru
hingga suatu hari
aku melihat orang yang kakinya cuma satu"


be thankful, bersyukurlah,

mudah untuk diucapkan tetapi terkadang sulit untuk dilakukan.
meski TUHAN telah berjanji akan menambahkan nikmatnya kepada hamba yang senantiasa bersyukur, namun godaan untuk kufur nikmat begitu memikat disetiap saat dan kesempatan.

setiap hari, aku sering kali melihat rumput tetangga lebih hijau, setiap kali aku kadang merasa seandainya aku berada pada posisi orang lain yang terlihat lebih baik dan lebih bahagia. padahal mungkin ada beberapa orang yang memandang bahwa rumput di halamanku yang lebih hijau, dan ada beberapa orang yang akan merasa lebih senang jika berada dalam posisiku.

tipis rasanya perbedaan antara rasa tidak puas yang membangun dengan rasa tidak puas yang membuat kita kufur nikmat.

berikut adalah beberapa hal yang sulit ku bedakan apakah termasuk inspirasi, obsesi, cita-cita, atau kufur nikmat? (antara mereka, aku dan mereka)

kasus 1
mereka: sudah menikah, sudah punya anak, sudah punya rumah, punya kendaraan.
aku: sudah menikah, belum punya rumah, belum punya anak, belum punya kendaraan
mereka: belum menikah, belum punya rumah, belum punya kendaraan, dan tentu saja belum punya anak

kasus 2
mereka: sudah S2, sudah bekerja, punya penghasilan diatas rata-rata
aku: baru S1, sudah bekerja, penghasilan lumayan
mereka: lulus S1, masih cari2 kerjaan

kasus 3
mereka: punya badan sehat, kerja siang malam, bolak-balik keluar kota, dan teteup sehat
aku: badan gede sih tapi sering sakit, ga bisa terlalu capek, klo keluar kota mabok deh
mereka: badan sakit, ga bisa kerja, boro2 keluar kota

kasus 4
mereka: badan ideal, sopan, pintar bergaul, smart, banyak yang nyaman deket mereka
aku: badan gendut, sering bad mood, ga smart2 amat, tapi ada aja sih yang suka jalan bareng
mereka: badan, mood, pergaulan, semuanya BAD

kasus 5
mereka: cantik, sholehah, hapal Qur'an dan doa2, hormat banget sama ortu
aku: lumayan cantik (hehe), juz ama aja ga hapal semua, hapal doa (doa makan n doa mau tidur), sholehah ga ya???? sama ortu lumayan ngrepotin
mereka: ga bisa ngaji, nglunjak sama ortu, sholehah????? (jauh kaleee)

dari lima kasus diatas, sebenarnya akan lebih mudah bagiku untuk bersyukur dari pada kufur. kasus 1 sampai 4 semuanya tentang dunia. sudah jelas2 tahu bahwa klo urusan dunia lebih baik lihat ke bawah, teteup... aja diri ini ingin mendongak ke atas.
malah untuk kasus nomor 5 yang semestinya mendongak ke atas aku malah lebih asik nunduk cari2 alasan.

setiap hari sebenarnya sudah begitu banyak limpahan rahmat dan nikmat yang diberikan, hanya saja diri ini memang senang sekali mencari2 kekurangan sampai lupa bersyukur.
ASTAGHFIRULLAH...


coba kita flash back dari mulai bangun pagi:
a. bangun pagi, kaki masih utuh, masih bisa bernafas, mata masih bisa melihat, telinga masih lengkap, keluarga bahagia (kurang apa coba?)
b. perjalanan ke kantor, kendaraan baik, jalanan lancar, udara segar, bisa sampai kantor dengan selamat
c. di kantor, kerjaan lumayan santai, teman2 ramah, semua target bisa selesai tepat waktu.
d. pulang kantor, mampir dulu buat belanja2, duit masih ada, badan ga terlalu capek
e. malam hari, bisa tidur di kasur empuk, nyenyak, mimpi indah

ALHAMDULILLAH...

so, be thankful (bersyukurlah maka akan KU tambahkan nikmat KU)

27.4.09

hari ini

pagi ini aku terbangun dalam keadaan yang jauh dari definisi sehat.
kepala pusing, badan panas, hidung mampet, tenggorokan gatal luar biasa.
alhamdulillah aku masih bisa mengenali diri dan bisa berjalan menuju kamar mandi.
baru selesai mandi ketika handphone berbunyi.
ternyata ada telepon dari kolegaku.

"mba berangkat pagi2 ya, hari ini kita pake kelas yang dibawah aja, yang deket kantor guru, ga jadi pake kelas yang kemaren."

ok bu
.
aku menjawab tanpa semangat.

hari ini aku harus menjadi penguji tes praktek, yang jelas2 memerlukan konsentrasi tinggi. di tambah lagi dengan kenyataan bahwa kami pindah kelas, berarti harus kembali berjibaku mempersiapkan ruang kelas, menyapu, menata bangku. pagi-pagi, dalam kondisi seperti ini.
ya ALLAH berikan aku kekuatan, bismillah....

aku berangkat dengan tergesa. kenyataan bahwa aku harus minum obat, membuatku tidak bisa berangkat sepagi yang kujanjikan. aku harus menunggu sarapan.

sampai di sekolah, aku tercenung ketika melihat ruang kelas yang akan kami gunakan untuk ujian ternyata sudah rapi,. wow, ternyata kolegaku begitu cekatan. aku jadi ga enak hati, sekaligus senang karena tidak harus berpeluh di pagi hari :)

tapi aku salah, ruang kelas itu sudah rapi karena akan digunakan oleh pelajaran lain , hufh....
dengan alasan senioritas, kami mengalah dan memilih ruang kelas yang letaknya jauh dari ruang guru.

dan jadilah aku harus tetap berpeluh ria dengan banyaknya cairan di hidung dan tenggorokankku.

tiba saatnya untuk ujian praktek, tapi tiba2 kolegaku berkata: "mba, materi untuk ujian speaking ketinggalan di laci meja saya" (di ruang guru)
ya ALLAH...

"tapi saya sudah minta siswa untuk mengambilkan"
ALHAMDULILLAH

tiba2 kolegaku berkata lagi: "mba saya udah ketik tanda ruangan dan jadwal giliran menurut absen, tapi salah, jadi pie?"

ga apa bu, biar saya perbaiki aja pake tulisan tangan, darurat, soale dah mepet.

ujian praktek yang harusnya mulai pukul 7, molor 15 menit.
baru selesai berbasa basi dengan menerangkan sistematika ujian, handphone berdering lagi, kali ini dari kolegaku yang satu lagi.

"bu dwi ada dimana? udah mulai ujian praktek? ini nomor siswa dengan berita acara dan lembar jawaban writing ada sama saya."

kok bisa????

"owh jadinya disana? oke nanti saya yang antar kesana"

aduh...... ribet....

akhirnya ujian bisa dimulai.
kepala sudah berirama (snut snut snut), dan daya konsentrasi kian menurun ketika siswa mulai membawakan monolognya. belum lagi jumlah cairan yang kian menumpuk di hidung dan tenggorokan yang semakin gatal.

kulirik jam di pergelangan tangan, masih lama. kulihat daftar absen, masih ada puluhan siswa lagi yang harus di tes.

ya ALLAH kuatkan aku.

beberapa siswa menyampaikan monolog yang cukup menyenangkan untuk mengalihkan perhatianku dari rasa sakit.

dan, tibalah giliran siswa terakhir menyampaikan monolognya.

dan...
selesai.

satu kelas telah usai ujian, masih ada enam kelas lagi, masih ada empat hari lagi untuk jadi penguji.
aku bergegas untuk pulang, minum obat, istirahat, besok insya ALLAH lebih sehat.


26.4.09

color idioms

Black

black and white

MEANING: think of everything or judge everything as either good or bad

EXAMPLE:

” He tries to see everything in black and white although he knows this is impossible.”


black out
MEANING: 1. to darken by putting out or dimming electric lights
2. to lose consciousness

EXAMPLE:

1. During the war people in the cities were forced to black out their windows so that the enemy aircraft could not see them.
2. Suddenly the man blacked out during the parade and had to be helped to a quiet place.


black sheep (of the family)

MEANING: a person who is a disgrace or embarrassment to a family or group

EXAMPLE:

The man is the black sheep in his family and is the only member who has not had a successful career and life.


in the black

MEANING: successful or profitable

EXAMPLE:

The company has been in the black since they began to adopt many new ideas to cut costs.



Blue

to appear/happen out of the blue

MEANING:
1. to arrive unexpectedly, usually after a long absence.
2. to happen very suddenly and unexpectedly

EXAMPLE:

1. "My brother suddenly appeared out of the blue yesterday. We hadn't seen him for years.”
2. “I was driving home when out of the blue a deer jumped out in front of my car. I braked just in time to avoid it. We were both very lucky not to be hurt.”

to blue pencil something

MEANING: to censor something.


EXAMPLE:

”Reports on the mistreatment of the political prisoners were blue pencilled by the authorities”

a blue-eyed boy

MEANING: critical description of a boy/young man who has been singled out for special favours by someone in authority.

EXAMPLE:

”John is a real blue-eyed boy. The team manager always gives him special treatment. It isn’t fair to the rest of us.”
a bolt from the blue

MEANING: some unexpected bad news.


EXAMPLE:

"It came like a bolt from the blue that they are getting divorced.”




to look / feel blue

MEANING: - to look / feel depressed or discontented.

EXAMPLE:

"Things are looking blue for Tom these days. His wife has left him."

blue in the face

MEANING: to make a huge but vain effort to win a person's agreement.

EXAMPLE:

“I told him he was making a mistake until I was blue in the face but he wouldn’t listen.”



once in a blue moon

MEANING: to occur extremely rarely or only once in a life-time.

EXAMPLE:

”My brother only rings home once in a blue moon. I wish he would ring our parents more often"



men/boys in blue

MEANING: the police because of the colour of their uniforms.

EXAMPLE:

"Let’s get out of here! The boys in blue are coming."


Brown

to be browned off

MEANING: to be bored, annoyed at something

EXAMPLE:

I’m browned off with this place. There is nothing to do here.



Colourless

to be colourless

MEANING: to lack personality, to be boring.

EXAMPLE:

“Nothing he said stands out in my memory. I'm afraid he's a dull, colourless man.'

to be off colour

MEANING: to be not quite at one's best, to feel queasy or slightly ill.
EXAMPLE:

"She's a little off colour today because she was up very late last night and had too much to drink!."

to give/lend colour to

MEANING: to make (an account, story, explanation, etc.) more credible or more believable.

EXAMPLE:

" The broken window on the ground floor lent colour to her story that
her house had been burgled"


a highly coloured report


MEANING: a report that is exaggerated or biased.
EXAMPLE:

"I read the government’s highly coloured report on the great state of the health services."


to see someone in his true colours

MEANING: to understand someone's true character, often for the first time.

EXAMPLE:

”'As soon as he made a fuss about returning her money, I saw him in his true colours."


to show oneself in one's true colours

MEANING: to reveal one's true nature.

EXAMPLE:

"'When he lost his temper at the party, he showed himself in his true colours"


with flying colours

MEANING: with great success, with distinction.

EXAMPLE:

“We were all expecting him to fail, but he passed with flying colours.”


to paint in bright/dark colours

MEANING: to describe something in a flattering or unflattering way.

EXAMPLE:

“My brother pretended he was doing well financially and painted his life there in the brightest colours.”



Green

to be green

MEANING: inexperienced, immature

EXAMPLE:

He is rather green and doesn’t have enough experience to drive the large piece of machinery yet.

green with envy

MEANING: full of envy, very jealous

EXAMPLE:

I was green with envy when I heard that she would be going to London for a month while I had to stay and work.

give someone the green light

MEANING: give permission to go ahead with a project

EXAMPLE:

We were finally given the green light to begin setting up the new project.

get the green light
MEANING:
receive permission to go ahead with a project

EXAMPLE:

We got the green light to go ahead with the new advertising campaign.

grass is always greener on the other side
MEANING:
a place that is far away or different seems better than where we are now

EXAMPLE:

He realized that the grass is always greener on the other side when he saw that his new job wasn’t perfect and had its own problems too.

green belt
MEANING: an area of fields and trees around a town

EXAMPLE:

The city has a policy of increasing the green belt around the city.


green thumb

MEANING: a talent for gardening, ability to make things grow

EXAMPLE:

She has a green thumb and is able to grow one of the best gardens in our neighbourhood.



Golden

a golden opportunity

MEANING: a great opportunity that might never come again
EXAMPLE:

This is a golden opportunity to make a business deal with that big company.


a golden handshake

MEANING: a large sum of money paid to a retiring manager or director, or to a redundant worker.

EXAMPLE:

The company chairman received a huge golden handshake on retiring.

a golden boy

MEANING: a young man idolized for a great skill, usually in sport.

EXAMPLE:

"David Beckham is the golden boy of English soccer”


Pink

tickled pink

MEANING: be very pleased, thrilled, delighted

EXAMPLE:

She was tickled pink that you made the effort to go and visit her when you were in town.


Red

to be shown the red card

MEANING: to be dismissed from your job.

EXAMPLE:

"The accountant was shown the red card for hiding company money.”



to be in the red

MEANING: to have an overdraft, to be in debt.

EXAMPLE:

”I am overdrawn again. I hate being in the red.”

to catch someone red-handed

MEANING: to catch someone in the act of committing a crime, usually a theft.

EXAMPLE:

" The manager caught the new employee red-handed taking money out of the box."


to look through rose-coloured/tinted spectacles

MEANING: to see things in a flattering or over-optimistic light.

EXAMPLE:

"It annoys me that she sees everything through rose-coloured spectacles, but
she would feel differently if she had to live there."

to see red

MEANING: to react with uncontrollable rage against someone or something.

EXAMPLE:

"John saw red when he saw his girlfriend laughing with another guy."


red tape

MEANING: bureaucratic delay, excessive attention to rules and regulations, often resulting in injustice to the ordinary citizen.

EXAMPLE:

"I want to start a new business but the red tape involved is very frustrating."


to see the red light

MEANING: to recognize approaching danger, the red light being a danger signal.

EXAMPLE:

"When the doctor warned his patient that further drinking would damage his liver, the man saw the red light and quit."



paint the town red

MEANING: go out and party and have a good time

EXAMPLE:

” When my cousin came to visit us we decided to go out and paint the town red.”

roll out the red carpet

MEANING: greet a person with great respect, give a big welcome

EXAMPLE:

When Nelson Mandela visited Washington, they rolled out the red carpet and gave him a great welcome.

a redneck

MEANING: an ignorant, insensitive person.
EXAMPLE:

"Our new co-worker is a real redneck. He doesn’t seem to know anything about life."


Silver

the silver screen

MEANING: the cinema


EXAMPLE:

Valentino was one of the earliest stars of the silver screen.


White

as white as a sheet
MEANING:
in a state of great fear

EXAMPLE:

You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Your face is as white as a sheet.


white elephant

MEANING: a useless possession

EXAMPLE:

The new stereo that he bought is a white elephant and he doesn’t need it at all.


white as a ghost

MEANING: very pale because of fear, shock, illness etc.

EXAMPLE:

My sister became white as a ghost when she saw the man at the window.



a white lie

MEANING: a harmless lie (told to be polite or to do something not seriously wrong)

EXAMPLE:

I told my boss a white lie and said that I was sick yesterday when actually I wasn’t.

a white-collar worker

MEANING: a professional or office worker who wear a shirt with a white collar.

EXAMPLE:

"The recession has hit factory workers (blue-collar workers) much harder than white-collar workers."


Yellow


yellow-bellied

MEANING: extremely timid, cowardly

EXAMPLE:

He is a yellow-bellied coward and never is willing to fight for what is right.


a yellow streak

MEANING: cowardice in character


EXAMPLE:

He has a yellow streak running down his back and is not a good person to expect to support you when things become difficult.

24.4.09

between you and him

here i am
lying between you and him
it is you that i love
it is he that pouring all the love for me
it is you that i miss
it is he that fulfilling all my story
it is you that i adore
it is he that makes me a princess
it is you that i want
it is he that holding me tight in his arm
it is you that i dream of
it is he that occupies my reality
so
here i am
lying between you and him
i always wanted to be yours
but it is he that i belong to

16.4.09

there is love

Love is when your lust is fed.
When your dreams come true outside your head.
When the sun above you smiles and nods.
And you've found real peace against the odds.
Love is when your heart is tumbling,
when you feel the earth beneath you rumbling,
when you pray and light shines down upon you,
and you sparkle with hope to all around you.
Love is when you found a place,
where you filled with joy an empty space.
when your words are true and you speak with pride,
And you leave spies mouths open wide.
Love is what you breath and eat,
when you feel it tingle down to your feet.
When you look in ones eyes and you see your fate,
and know from now that life will be great.
Love is when the angels smile,
when you dream of mermaids in the Nile.
When anything you doubted is suddenly clear,
and peace of mind replaces your fear.
Love is what we dream upon,
when we're stuck and don't know how to move on.
When its your very hands that shake,
and you know the next move you should make.
Love is here in front of your eyes,
just look,you'll see I speak no lies.
Love's all around you ,inside and out,
cuz if God is there then love is about!

3.4.09

Example of Text Genre Assignment

Group Members:
  1. Dwi (11)
  2. Faozan (15)
  3. Haryanti (20)

Text Genre : PROCEDURE


Communicative Purpose :
To tell the steps in doing or making something in a sequential order.

Text Organization :

  • Goal
  • Materials
  • Steps
Language Features:
  • Present tense
  • Adjectives
  • Nouns
  • Imperatives
  • Quantifiers
  • Sequence connectors
Examples of Procedure Text:
  • Instruction manuals
  • recipes
  • directions

Reading Exercises


Text 1

Please follow these procedures in order to make a machine withdrawal from your country Bank checking or saving accounts:
  1. insert your card facing up into the card slot of the teller machine.
  2. enter your four-digit identification number on the numbered buttons.
  3. press the withdrawal for checking or the button for saving.
  4. enter the amount of withdrawal on the numbered buttons, and wait for your receipt to be printed.
  5. remove your card from the slot. the drawer will open with a receipt and your cash withdrawal.
All costumers are limited to two withdrawal in a twenty-hour period. If you attempt to withdraw more than the limited number of time, your card will be retained in the machine, and you will have to reclaim it in person at your main branch bank.

Question no 1-5

1. What is the passage about?

a. How to get a Country Bank card
b. How to make a loan at country Bank
c. How to use the Country Bank teller machine
d. How to open an account at Country Bank
e. How to make a deposit and withdrawal at Country Bank
Answer : C