RG Day 5: Triumphant against De Vil

Round of 64
R. Nadal def. N. Devilder 64 60 61

Rafa easily disposed of Nicolas Devilder (who played worthy of his namesake in the first set, but ran out of gas in the 2nd & 3rd) in straights. The famous *ss triumphs against the De Vil.

It vaguely amuses me that Rafa's scoreline exactly mirrors Raja's (excluding that insignificantly broken first set of course).

Then again, I'm easily amused. :-D

RG Day 5: Broke-back Montanes

Round of 64

R. Federer def. A. Montanes 67(5) 61 60 64

Fed got broken in the first set by Albert Montanes (collective gasp!) but in sets 2 to 4, immediately broke back in enraged fashion i.e. serving bagel-and-breadstick galore. Hence pun in title.

Nothing like a good kick in the behind to wake The FedEx, eh.

RG Day 4: After three days of rain delays...

Round of 128

R. Nadal def. T. Bellucci 75 63 61

...Vamosss, at last!

(I think he was vamos-ing for three days worth of play)

RG Day 3.5: Now it's raining cats and rats...

Ladies and gentlemen, the match we've all been waiting for...

...has been officially suspended, yet again.

What a tease this day was. Just when we were getting into rhythm... not only does it rain but it pours. Tough luck.

Can someone just go do the raindance at centre-court? Or call a 'pawang hujan', they're usually more effective than reading weather forecasts.

(-_-)

In any case, here's a little something stupid that I found during today's prolonged rain delays. Hey, that sort of rhymed.

(Btw, I hated this ad. Super-aneh, ngeri, & tasteless. In what way would seeing this make anyone more interested in buying a Kia?)

Weirdness-ness continues tomorrow.

RG Day 3: It's looking doom and gloom in Paris

Rain, rain, go away... I wanna see Le Rafa play...

Highlights of the day:

[4] N. "Donkey" Davydenko def. T.Johansson 63 63 63

[9] S. "Wawawa" Wawrinka def. P. Kohlschreiber 63 64 63

[22] A. "Ame" Mauresmo def. O. Savchuk 75 46 61

Still waiting for the Rafa match to happen, though...

RG Day 2: Roger in relief

Round of 128

R. Federer def. S. Querrey 64 64 63

"Ohhh, winning feels so good..."

RG Day 1: Goodbye, Guga

Gustavo Kuerten bids goodbye to Tennis

"I'm a big fan of Guga, he's one of the great characters who you don't want to see retire, like Pat Rafter. It has been sad to see him struggling with injuries, but we enjoyed some great matches and I'm sure our paths will cross again in the future." - ROGER FEDERER

"He will always be remembered as an amazing tennis player, No. 1 in the world and the winner of three Roland Garros titles. It was a pleasure to watch him on television when I was growing up, to eventually practise with him and be in the same locker room." - RAFAEL NADAL

RG D-1: Rafa and his racquet

"Are there holes in my racquet?"

--- from menstennisforums.com

Predictions for Roland Garros: Men's Draw

My crystal ball predictions (a.k.a. personal judgment with no solid basis whatsoever) :-)

But, hey, at least it's based on the real draw. Which is better than the rolandgarros.com 'live-draw' screw-up earlier today, hehe.

Thoughts:

Overall, the draw looks like fun. Some of my favorite players (who've sort of disappeared this dirt-ball season?) are showing up: Baggy, Nababan, Tsongo. Pretty interesting matches in the early rounds as well -- see those outlined in the table, I think those are must-watches

Rog got a pretty good half. As long as MonoFed doesn't show up on court, he should (hopefully) have an easy run to the final.

Raf, OTOH, has some potentially tough match-ups. Doesn't help that Nole's on his side of the fence, either. Well, better his than Rog's :-p

Here's hoping for another R&R final. Hattrick!

-tmsh-

Rafa vs Raja: Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Hamburg '08 Final

[2] R. Nadal def. [1] R. Federer

7-5 6-7(3) 6-3

Official ATP article: Nadal Wins Hamburg Battle for 26th Career ATP Title
Post-match interviews: Rafa (post#193), Roger (post#9726) -- read these, gotta note their insightful and respectful comments towards each other

---

No surprises here. The King of Clay prevails. (As I'd hoped and predicted.)

Ain't really disappointed. Just baffled by how strange the match went.

The weirdnesses:

1st SET

Rog was a double break up in the first set at 5-1, then squandered it after Raf's injury consultation. What the-?? Raf's sporting extreme looks of pain during injury-time, followed by his hopping all over the court like an Energizer bunny, don't jive.

2nd SET

Rog, up 5-2 in the second set, nearly let it go again by letting Rafa catch-up 5-5 and even lead him at 6-5. Rog's head-banging-against-the-net made it even weirder. Thank God for prolonged drama by letting the tiebreak go Rog's way to secure the set.

Final SET

Last set was an anti-climax of sorts. Raf served for the match at 5-1, only to give away two more games to Rog, and at last end the match at a decent 6-3 scoreline. Nice of Rafa to keep the breadstick in the bakery. ;-)


But it was a close match, as usual between these two. Their rivalry still stands (and looks to be long-standing), now at an imbalanced 9-6 H2H in Rafa's favor (8-1 on clay, d*rn).

Nevertheless, onwards to Roland Garros - the most important clay tournament of all.

Roger, now's your time to shine! *spoken as a true believer in Raja & the God of tennis* ;-)


-tmsh-

Video Iseng dari ATP

The Perfect Player
ATP stars discuss what makes a perfect player:



Amusing HAHA things to note:
- Karlovic's serve & Gonzalez's forehand seem widely acknowledged by other players (surprise, non-top 10 players getting peer respect)
- Nababan + Ferrer dianggap best return player by most of their peers (surprise, even by Federer)
- Federer gives out of the blue, diplomatic answers (best stamina = Hewitt? Is he even on tour anymore? 'Doh..)
- Rog/Raf saling memuja (saling puji-memuji... "You have the best forehand/the best mental strength.." "oh no, you do.." "oh, no, YOU do..." "oh, NO, YOU do..." and so on and so forth)
- Ljubicic ternyata diem2 pemuja Federer (best serve, best return of serve, best net play, and almost best mental strength)
- Safin, Murray, & Djoker hayeyuya puji diri (Who has the best [backhand/etc]? Me, myself, I, moi, je, gue, etc...)

;-)

-tmsh-

Lucky-draw, lucky me!

Chris Botti, here I come

Omg, can hardly believe it, I just won. A pair of tickets. To the Chris Botti concert on May 20 at Esplanade. :-)


It's the first time I've ever won a lucky draw! What a rush of excitement, especially those first 5 minutes just after receiving that 'congratz, you're our lucky winner!' call from the event organizers.

Ah, life's simple pleasures. :-) Not a cent of regret buying this "Chris Botti: Italia" CD two weeks ago.

For your trial & listening pleasure: Track 1 - Italia (feat. Andrea Bocelli)

Like it? Get the CD at any HMV or CD shop, or if you're in Singapore, just catch his concert next week - tickets are available online from SISTIC here.

Other stuff:
- Chris Botti Official Website
- The ever-comprehensive wikipedia
- Online reviews: 1, 2, 3

Life is jazzy,
-tmsh-

This (sort of) breaks my heart

Rafa readying himself to "resign"...
....from his #2 position, before ever having tasted being #1.

Can't help it that it breaks my heart, sort of.

Especially as he's been the undisputed #2 all these years, trying so hard to catch up to Roger... only to now potentially drop back to #3, surpassed by Djokovic (of all people). >:-(

C'mon Raf... keep up the spirit! Your Vamos days aren't over yet!

-tmsh-

---

Nadal resigned to rankings drop

Rafael Nadal believes he will lose his world number two position to Novak Djokovic by Wimbledon at the latest.

The Spaniard lost valuable points when his defence of the Rome Masters title ended in the second round, while Djokovic went on to lift the trophy.

"The logical thing is that he goes past me here in Hamburg, or at Roland Garros or Wimbledon," said the 21-year-old.

Nadal was hampered by blisters in Rome but he said: "I've had a few days off, and I'm much better."

Earlier in the season, Nadal had an outside chance of overtaking world number one Roger Federer, who had a poor start to the season by his high standards.

However, Nadal now finds himself with a stack of ranking points to defend from now until Wimbledon and any slip could see Djokovic move up a place.

The Serb has been the form player of the season so far, winning the Australian Open as well as the Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Rome.

"He's a great player and he's doing things very well," said Nadal of his Serbian rival.

"If I'm number three I'm number three. When it happens I just have to accept it and fight to get the position back."

Nadal, the world's best player on clay, has complained bitterly about this year's schedule, which has three clay-court Masters Series tournaments, plus Barcelona, crammed into four weeks.

The Spaniard successfully defended his titles in Barcelona and Monte Carlo but saw his 17-match unbeaten run in Rome ended in the second round by compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Nadal will lose his place if he fails to pass the quarter-finals and Djokovic reaches the semis of the Hamburg Masters Series on May 11-18, 2008.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Catatan Sesi: Manajemen Konflik

Manajemen Konflik
Gali-gali notes lama dari Kamp Jemaat tahun lalu, ketemu sebuah topik yang simple tapi cukup relevan untuk kehidupan bergereja maupun konteks umum/universal.

For our enlightenment and spiritual growth, personally as well as together, serving as a body of Christ. God bless :-)

-tmsh-

---

Notes dari Kamp Jemaat GPO, Jan 2007
Kapita Selekta: Manajemen Konflik
Pembicara: Pdt. Juswantori Ichwan

Apa itu konflik?
Konflik = perselisihan yang terjadi karena dua orang atau lebih mempunyai kepentingan yang berbeda atas satu objek sasaran.
Contoh: Konflik di GPO misalnya ada dua majelis yang mempunya visi yg indah, tetapi berbeda.

Apa penyebab konflik?
Lihat Yakobus 4: 1-3.
Konflik disebabkan oleh hawa nafsu/pemikiran/keinginan pribadi, yang tidak didahului dengan berdoa, atau berdoa tetapi salah berdoa.

Apa faktor pemicu konflik?
1. Ucapan: Bahasa verbal dan non-verbal, i.e. ekspresi, intonasi, pilihan kata-kata.
2. Tulisan: Bisa terjadi kesalahpahaman/salah penafsiran, i.e. via sms, email, surat.
3. Sikap tertentu: Body language juga berbicara, i.e. air muka, postur, gerak-gerik/gestures.
4. Keputusan: Jika disampaikan secara sepihak atau dengan cara yang kurang bijak, could be taken personally. ('catatan kilat' on how to handle this: ngelobi dulu, baru sampaikan keputusan)

Contoh kasus: Paulus vs Barnabas
Lihat Kisah 15: 35-39.
Semula akrab --> terjadi dialog --> terungkap keinginan --> ada ucapan keras --> ada prasangka negatif --> berlangsung debat mulut --> terjadi perpecahan.

Mengapa perlu menyelesaikan konflik?
1. Konflik dalam satu masalah akan menimbulkan masalah yang lain.
2. Melumpuhkan semangat melayani.
3. Mengganggu kesehatan.
4. Menghabiskan energi.
5. Mengecewakan Tuhan.

Bagaimana menyelesaikan konflik?

> Cara PREVENTIF / pencegahan <

Sebisa mungkin, berusahalah meminimalkan konflik. Lihat Roma 12:18 --> "Sedapat-dapatnya, kalau hal itu bergantung padamu, hiduplah dalam perdamaian dengan semua orang!"

Langkah yang bijak dan Kristiani dalam mencegah konflik:

1) Perhatikan kata-kata kita.

• Jangan mewakili perkataan orang lain
• Jangan memakai kata-kata yang keras/memojokkan
• Jangan memakai nada/kata yang mengancam
• Jangan memakai humor yang berisi ejekan/sarkasma

Melainkan:

• Pihak yang berkepentingan hendaklah menyampaikan sendiri pikiran/perasaannya
• Pakailah kata-kata yang positif dan membangun
• Tunjukkan ekspresi dan sikap yang penuh pengertian
• Boleh bercanda, tetapi jangan 'menyerang' pihak tertentu - kalau perlu, ledek diri sendiri aja :-)

2) Perhatikan waktu bicara.

Carilah waktu yang tenang, dan saat pikiran jernih. Hindari memberi saran/mengkritik saat orang tsb sedang lelah/capek (biasanya saran/kritik akan 'mental' balik karena timbul defensiveness).

3) Perhatikan tempat bicara.

Carilah tempat yang tidak bising, tidak banyak distraction. Fokus pada topik yang dibahas.

PS: Utamakan mencari waktu dan tempat yang tepat dibandingkan terburu-buru/secepat mungkin. (At the same time, harus balance, jangan ditunggu terlalu lama-lama sampai masalah yg 'hangat' keburu menjadi 'panas'.)


> Cara KURATIF / penyembuhan <

Ketika 'nasi sudah menjadi bubur' alias konflik sudah terjadi, hindari ber-reaksi secara 'spontan'/knee-jerk reaction, karena justru dapat membuat keadaan semakin memanas.

Langkah yang bijak dan Kristiani dalam mengatasi konflik:

1) Kenali apa masalahnya.

Apakah itu masalah kita? Masalah saya? Masalah dia pribadi? Atau masalah orang lain?

Remember: "Hurt people" hurt people.
Dalam arti: Orang yang sakit hati biasanya akan menyakiti orang lain juga, tanpa dia sadari.

[Quote Pak Juswan: "Yang waras, ngalah lah..."] :-)

2) Selesaikanlah segera.

Konflik menghambat hubungan kita dengan Tuhan. Lihat Matius 5: 22-25 --> haruslah kita berdamai dulu dengan saudara kita sebelum membawa persembahan kepada Tuhan.

Ada 2 jenis "amarah" dari Alkitab:
[-] ORGE (api dalam sekam) --> tidak baik, karena menyimpan perasaan di dalam, masalah tidak terselesaikan
[+] THUMOS (menyala dan padam) --> baik, karena membuka jalan untuk menyelesaikan masalah

3) Temui dan belajar mendengar.

- Dengarkan dengan hati dan pikiran terbuka, tanpa membawa prasangka dini.
- Jangan hanya mendengarkan kata-katanya, tetapi juga pahami perasaannya.
- Ungkapkan lagi apa yang kita tangkap, supaya ia merasa dimengerti, dan kita tidak menyimpulkan secara keliru.

4) Pakai kata-kata yang bijak.

DO:
Pakailah kata-kata yang mendamaikan/peaceful words, dengan berendah hati.
- "Maafkan saya," atau "Saya yang salah," atau "Mungkin kita berdua salah mengerti, tetapi saya juga memang ada bagian yang salah."
- "Yes, you are my friend. I don't want to lose you because of this problem. Ayo kita mulai lagi semuanya dengan lebih baik."
- "Dari masalah ini, saya belajar...."

DON'T:
JANGAN memakai kata 'always' or 'never', karena kedua kata ini sudah seperti memberikan "vonis" bagi kawan bicara kita.
- ALWAYS ("Kenapa sih kamu itu selalu begini...." / "You always...")
- NEVER ("Kamu tidak pernah mendengarkan pendapat saya dulu..." / "You never...")

Selamat bertumbuh bersama!

Classical-post #8

Love is all around
Been out and about doing other things lately... but now I'm back with some classical-recs, folks!


I'm currently in love with Edward Elgar's "Salut d'amour" (I think it means "love salutation"? Wild guess, haha).

This version in particular, is a lovely blend of 5 instruments: piano, flute, violin, cello, and trumpet. What a beautiful harmony it makes! <3

-tmsh-

Catatan Khotbah: Allah Buka Jalan Saat Tiada Jalan

Minggu, 4 Mei 2008
Tema: "Allah Buka Jalan Saat Tiada Jalan" (Keluaran 13:17 - 14:13)
Pembicara: Pdt. Ayub Yahya

Pernah dengar lagu "God will make a way when there seems to be no way"?
"Dia buka jalan saat tiada jalan." A very familiar song, yang bisa dinyanyikan di luar kepala. But do we really think it / believe it when we sing it? Ini bukanlah ungkapan 'kosong', tapi 'riil'.


Pernahkah mengalami krisis dalam hidup? Situasi tak berdaya?
Pasti at some point, kita semua pernah. Tetapi kita tetap bisa bertahan sampai saat ini karena ada orang2 yang membantu - i.e. God sends us the right people at the right place, at the right time.

Lihat 2 Samuel 17: 27-29 --> sesuatu yang tidak terduga, Tuhan mengutus orang2 yang tidak dikenal untuk menolong Daud.

Tapi hati-hati, jangan menyelewengkan arti "Dia buka jalan saat tiada jalan."
Ilustrasi: Kalau seorang anak tidak lulus SMA, tidak mendapat ijazah, lalu ada kesempatan 'membeli' ijazah palsu - apakah itu "jalan" yang dibukakan oleh Tuhan?

Jadi, bagaimana membedakan mana "jalan dari Tuhan" dengan "jalan yang sesat"?
Hanya 1 kriteria: Tuhan tidak mungkin memberikan jalan yang melanggar/bertentangan dengan Firman-Nya.

Mentok? Jalan buntu?
Mungkin kita pernah atau sedang mengalami "jalan buntu", feeling stuck, nowhere to go (or simply don't know where to go). Kita sudah berusaha terus-terusan, tetapi tetap tidak ada jalan yang terbuka. Kita bertanya, "Where is God?"

Dalam situasi seperti ini, ada beberapa kemungkinan:

(1) Memang Tuhan belum membuka jalan karena Dia mau mengajari kita untuk bersabar dan berserah kepada-Nya.
Mungkin tanpa sadar, kita masih mengandalkan diri sendiri, masih ada kesombongan dalam diri, masih merasa "I can solve this", masih berusaha memakai kemampuan sendiri.
- Analogi: orang yang hampir tenggelam, tidak bisa ditolong saat masih 'menggelepar', tetapi ditunggu sampai lemas/tak berdaya, baru bisa di-rescue.

Mungkin persoalannya ada pada diri kita sendiri; kita sendiri yang 'mempersulit' jalan untuk terbuka dgn kriteria yang kita tetapkan.
- Analogi: seorang pria dewasa sampai sekarang belum mendapat pasangan, karena 'kriteria' terlalu banyak: harus baik, cantik, pinter, kaya, etc.
[intermezzo: Ingat rumusan 3B: Berdoa, Berusaha, Bercermin. :-D]

(2) Tuhan sudah berusaha menolong, tetapi kita tidak peka bahwa itu adalah jalan Tuhan.
Kita masih sibuk 'asyik' bergulat dengan masalah-masalah kita, terhisap dengan 'rasa kasihan' pada diri sendiri (wallowing in self-pity).
- Analogi: pendeta yang tenggelam di rumah yang kebanjiran ketika sedang menyiapkan khotbah "iman yang memindahkan gunung". Sesampai di pintu sorga, dia mempertanyakan kenapa Tuhan tidak menolong dia di saat kebanjiran padahal dia sudah beriman, Tuhan menjawab bahwa sudah 3 kali berusaha menolong tetapi tidak digubris.

(3) Kita menuntut Tuhan menolong dengan cara dan waktu yang kita inginkan.
Mungkin ada tuntutan dari kita yang Tuhan tidak perkenan. We think we know best.
- Analogi: pemuda yang jatuh ke jurang, nyangkut di akar. Tuhan bilang, 'lepaskanlah peganganmu di akar', tetapi pemuda tsb takut, dan malah minta Tuhan menyelamatkan dengan cara lain i.e. lemparkan tali dari atas, or kirim orang untuk mengangkat. Padahal dia itu tidak tahu bahwa jurang itu hanya setengah meter di bawahnya.

Intinya: kita ada PERAN SERTA dalam "membuka jalan".
Ingat perkataan Musa di Kel. 14:13: "Janganlah takut; Berdirilah tetap; Lihatlah keselamatan dari Tuhan!"

(1) Janganlah takut
- Ketakutan membuat kita lumpuh; potensi kita malah hilang. Orang yang 'kalah mental' dan selalu punya gambaran negatif, akhirnya malah benar2 menjadi tidak berdaya.
- Ketakutan membuat kita panik, lalu berbuat nekad. Just like the pigmalion effect: isu disebarkan, akhirnya malah benar2 kejadian (i.e. isu bank yang bankrut, malah benar2 menjadi bankrut karena semua orang menarik uangnya).
- Ketakutan membuat kita kehilangan kasih; kita menjadi self-centred dan melupakan orang di sekitar (lihat Keluaran 14: 9-14).

So, bagaimana sebaiknya menghadapi ketakutan?
- Sadari bahwa tidak ada hal yang abadi di dunia ini; do not be attached to things of this world.
- Sadari bahwa hidup kita ini milik Tuhan; it's up to Him what to do, give, and take in our life.
- Dengan demikian, kita dapat menjalani hidup dengan berserah, tidak dicengkeram ketakutan. (Watchout, jangan salah interpretasi: bedakan hidup "berserah" dengan menjadi "pasrah"/being passive and doing nothing at all. Bukan itu maksudnya.)

(2) Berdirilah tetap
- "Berdiri tetap" = tegar, teguh dalam iman dan prinsip kepada Tuhan. Imanlah yang memungkinkan kita meyakini rancangan Tuhan dalam hidup kita. Ketika masalah datang bertubi-tubi, jangan jatuh pada tawaran duniawi; justru seharusnya kita semakin mendekatkan kepada Tuhan.
- Analogi: Seorang pelaut, ketika ombak datang, hendaklah memperkuat layar.
- Similarly: manusia, ketika persoalan datang, hendaklah memperkuat iman.

(3) Lihatlah keselamatan dari Tuhan!
- Ubah fokus! Jangan lagi terpusat pada diri sendiri atau permasalahan kita, tetapi pada Tuhan sang pemberi kehidupan.
- Analogi: Petrus sempat bisa berjalan di atas air, mengikuti Yesus sampai ke tengah; tetapi ketika mulai sadar akan ombak/angin/keadaan disekitarnya, dia menjadi goyah dan jatuh.

End Note
Mari kita menjalani hidup dengan iman, dan mendasarkan iman kita hanya pada kasih dan integritas Tuhan (yang tidak pernah berubah), bukan pada realita atau pengalaman (yang notabene selalu berubah2).

Selamat menjalani hidup dengan IPK [Iman, Pengharapan, dan Kasih].

-tmsh-

Rome: Roger rested and good to go

Source: Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Song of the week: Then Will The Very Rocks

download here

Eklesia will sing this joyful song on Sunday, May 4 '08 :-)

-tmsh-