The Swallows

The Swallows

I aimed at the flying swallows but to my distress I couldn’t almost see anything of them except my face mirrored, hindering me on the screen of my digital pocket camera. I aimed at the sky at random, zoomed in, zoomed out again and I felt wretched. I opened it in my computer. The swallows that I captured were flying so fast and there were a lot of blank spots without a swallow.

But as I found a very short beautiful recording of the birds, I thought I could still make me a nice video for You Tube. I slowed down its speed, lengthened by doubling the recording and I saw a beautiful view of flying swallows through a frame, more fascinating than seeing them actually live, flying in the open air. Besides, I’ll make me some beautiful snapshots out of it for my ‘chewspictures’ blog. And as it’s that good, I owe this to the very smart digital pocket camera and Windows Live Movie Maker.

October 2011

What Is A Weed?

What Is A Weed?

A weed is a plant that is not wanted, not planted undesired and grows anywhere. They’re cleared out,  eradicated, though they might grow into a beautiful flower plant, a fern, a chevelure, a lotus, an orchid, ... or a tree, a waringin, a beautiful forest, ... 

A weed treated, cared for, looked after, loved ... stop being a weed and become as honorable, beautiful, lovable as  our plants, trees in our garden, flower pot, vase are. All our plants once started as a weed.

There’s no weed whatever that’s not wonderful, extraordinary. If we see and judge that’s just an ordinary weed, our inner eyes fail to see its beauty.

Here she is after more than 20 years

October 2011

Faster Uploading To You Tube

Faster Uploading To You Tube

It takes me sometimes 10 to 12 hours to upload my videos to You Tube, Can you imagine my distress when after every 15 minutes you have to wake up the computer from its “sleep” (monitor turns black). You must be on the watch, you can’t go out, you can’t go to sleep. When you forget this, the upload might fail, be cancelled and oh, how miserable(!) you should start anew after waiting so long. I’ve search after faster methods in uploading to You Tube in Google, but no way.

And I thought it would be OK when the computer could be set, so, that the computer would not “sleep”. I asked my very smart computer service officer how I could settle this.

He said open the “control panel”, click on “Power Options” choose the setting “Never” so that the computer “never sleeps”. Then turn off your monitor lest it would be burned.

So now I succeed. I’don’t care whether the computer can’t upload fast to You Tube anymore. It doesn’t matter when it would take a very long time. I can turn on the monitor again and handle my computer activities as though I’m not uploading to You Tube. I even have still access to internet and can have my sleep and the video uploaded when I wake up besides.  Ha, ha.  

October 2011

Kiss Of Gratitude

Kiss Of Gratitude

This dying old man couldn’t speak, he had no voice, no words. With difficulty, a lot of effort, he raised himself and kissed her. He was so grateful, she even wasn’t his wife. He was so happy and had prayed, thanked God for sending her to him before. “You change my life”  he said to her.
He had invited her to share his lodging about a year ago. He was so old. They did not sleep together.

On his sickbed he cried,  he, who was so tall and strong before, as though a little child seeking comfort with its mother. He felt so miserable, helpless – he had cancer - and even wasn’t ashamed of her who was so small, so feeble. “I need you” he said to her, “nothing else” as she, a young woman of the East, wetting his dried lips, silently, lovingly nursed him, an old, sick man of the West, perhaps even more than a married wife would do for her husband.

”She’s my wife”, he said, testified in the hospital to his friends.

Yet when he died, she was relieved, felt so happy that he was freed of his anxiety, torture, cancer, death agony, more than her sadness of missing him. 

Are those that aren’t married less happy than those who are?  

October 2011

This Lovely Weed

This Lovely Weed

How she, this lovely weed, rejoices as she grew from the dark undergrowth and saw the sun.

October 2011

This Lovely Weed

This Lovely weed (her neighbor)

The Baby Waringin

The Baby Waringin

And there’s no earth, soil to live on. How did she get her weight out of nothing but dust, air and almost no water, growing, standing, fastening herself in a corner of a wall?

October 2011

Wrong Again!

Wrong Again!

Little girl was drawing with crayon. Wrong, she wiped with a darker color. Wrong again, another color on it, wrong again. In her anger she swept through her painting with black. Failed, she thought, but it was displayed on the wall in the class room as good, valuable by her drawing teacher.

 1969

 October 2011

He Was A Prince, A Very Woman Lover, Lady Killer

He Was A Prince, A Very Woman Lover, Lady Killer

“And I thought of  Bill Clinton, Khadafy, Sadam Husein. But best in my eyes, opinion is our late president Soekarno.” So said Opa Johan to me. “He was  so manly, stately, brave, handsome, a prince, a very woman lover, lady killer. We, Indonesians may be ranking far below of other  nations in development, yet are cultered, civilized, humane. We don’t reproach, blame, impeach him for having so many wifes legallly or perhaps secretly. King Salomo had more than a hundred wifes, but I picture him a bit feminin.

“I don’t think Soekarno would very regret his down fall as when he reflected on his happy life before with the many beautiful women he had had, conquered.”

October 2011

I Thought I Was That Good

I Thought I Was That Good

“I thought I was that good” said Opa Johan to Pak Arif.

“But as I now think, what is there that does me credit? It started not according to my will but only afterwards it became my will because I accidentally encountered and so liked it.

“How can I want something that I do not know? What is beauty if I never knew it before? By chance I met a beauty and so knew and loved her. If I love music I also by chance heard beautiful music, otherwise I would not like and study music. If not by chance I knew the computer, I certainly never would learn to use the computer. When I wanted to study at the University I didn’d know about the many studies it provided before.

“I never thought, wanted to write, shoot foto’s, make recordings before, but as I  accidentally knew and later knew how exciting, engaging it was,  did I want it, learn it. When someday I am well versed  in it that does not do me credit but owe it to the occasion to be aquainted with.

“When I’m 81 now, without needing glasses and still be able to cycle some 50 Km, that was because by chance I read  W. Bates how to read better without glasses and read Cooper on staying healthy with aerobics.

“I’m lucky to be still alive going  through the dangerous times of riot and revolution, from running into accidents, ...

“Formerly someone said that life starts at 40, then someone today asserts, i. e. comforts himself,  that life starts at 80 as he celebrates his 80th year. Opa Johan whispered, I’m bragging now, I’m so sorry if one starts really living in old age,  I started living even when I was not five. Ha.Ha.

“Sure, you are very extraordinary, not by mere chance, or being lucky, as fundamentally, basically, each man and woman is very extraordinary created said Pak Arif. Ask Pak  Chew about it.”

October 2011

I Don't Repent My Wrong I Did On Purpose

I Don’t Repent My Wrong I Did On Purpose

“You pay me Rp 8.000.-. This is Rp. 7.000,-“ said the woman of the foodstall as she handed me my picnic.

“Sorry. It’s my fault but doesn’t matter.”  I laughed, it’s so cheap and don’t repent my wrong I did on purpose.

October 2011

You Blockhead

You Blockhead

Little girl said affectionately to her father who prepared her milk: “the milk isn’t sweet enough, you blockheeead” stressing on the word blockhead. How wonderful it was. It was much warmer than hear her say “dear father”.  There was no one who ever had the courage to say so to him.

1969

 October 2011