Wellcome to Lumajang”Regent

Pemilihan Bupati Lumajang Jawa Timur secara langsung, apapun cerita yang mengiringinya, telah melahirkan pemenang sejatinya yaitu rakyat. Ekspektasi rakyat yang dibangun diatas harapan, cita-cita, uneg-uneg dan segala tetek bengek mimpi dan celoteh mereka sedikit banyak terekonstruksi oleh janji - janji calon bupati. Walupun secara statistik yang bermakna kemudian terbukti janji selalu akan tinggal janji.

Read More

Health Insurance Travelers

Health Allowance for All-embracing Travelers 

If you are planning a cruise across again you accept apparently wondered how your US medical plan will awning you alfresco of the U.S. 

If you accept a managed affliction (HMO) plan, again you ability not accept any advantage alfresco of the US. Any advantage you do accept with an HMO is acceptable to be decidedly bargain if you travel, with greater abroad amount for analysis alfresco of your accustomed advantage area. 

Privately issued medical allowance usually does awning you during across travel, but the amount of accepting records, advice them into the English language, converting the currency, and carrying transaction across is all your responsibility, not the insurers. 

One simple advantage is to accept a abbreviate appellation medical action accurately advised to awning all-embracing travelers to supplement your primary coverage. Fortunately these are bargain and simple to obtain. Since these affairs specialize in all-embracing travel, there are beneath hassles about associated with bloom plans. The advantage can usually be issued in about two canicule with a acceptance beatific by fax or e-mail to your biking destination if necessary.

Read More

KITA EGOIS TERHADAP RENCANA TUHAN ?

Musibah dan Sikap Manusiawi kita yang Salah?

-->

Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi roji’un ...

Kehidupan kita sebetulnya akan selalu diujung kematiannya. Karena hukum alam akan selalu menyatakan bahwa justru karena ada kehidupanlah kematian itu ada. Setelah setahun lalu eyang kakung, kemudian disusul kepulangan eyang Putri. Belum genap lima puluh hari eyang putri dipanggil yang maha kuasa, maka pada hari itu duka itu datang kembali.

Bapak bagi anak-anaknya, suami bagi ibunda, eyang bagi cucu-cucunya, pengayom bagi kerabat dan sanak sudaranya, tempat berbagi bagi sahabat dan temannya, adalah episentrum dari typikal cara bergaul dan bersosialisasi dari almarhum. Kebesaran dan kekuatan itu hadir diujung kehidupannya. Sekian kali lipat dari jumlah empat puluh (batas psikologis (?) sesuai dawuh njeng nabi), mengiringi beliau kepada pelukan penciptanya. Berduyun-duyun mereka melepas seluruh cerita, tegur sapa, dan empati yang selalu beliau bangun disepanjang bingkai alur napasnya. Yang ditata pada seluruh masa lalu, yang dengan sepenuh hati diuri-uri dengan ikhlas dan konsistensi.

Sahabat dan keluarga begitu tersentak dengan kematian ini.

Konon empat puluh hari sebelum ajal menjemput, daun dengan nama orang tersebut akan jatuh di Arsy, dan malaikat mautpun akan selalu mendampinginya pada kurun waktu itu sampai ajal benar-benar datang. Yang excellent dari rencana Tuhan ini, dan ini amat bernilai seni, adalah bahwa tiada seorangpun menyadari hal ini – pun bagi orang-orang terdekatnya sekalipun – sehingga keterkejutan dan kehampaan akan mengiringi, sesal dan sedih panjang akan turut di eksplor habis oleh orang-orang yang mencintai dan dicintainya (kecuali bagi orang – orang beriman, Allah SWT maha tahu).

Ajal dan kematian akan selalu sangat istimewa karena satu hal, mereka yang telah dipanggiNya tidak akan pernah kembali pada kehidupan bumi untuk selamanya. Mereka tidak akan datang lagi pada sisa hidup kita, sampai suatu saat nanti ajalpun akan memeluk kita.

Sementara itu pula, kita akan selalu tidak yakin, akankah kita dapat berjumpa kembali dengan orang-orang dekat kita di akherat kelak, seperti tidak yakinnya kita terhadap amal baik kita.

Wallahua’lam bis Sawab ......

Read More

BLACK BOX

Diam-diam kyai Kastubi amat setuju dengan larangan terbang yang dikenakan Uni Eropa terhadap maskapai penerbangan nasional Indonesia. Masih lekat di benaknya almarhum ADAM AIR yang tersungkur diatas laut Majene itu. Jangankan untuk memonitor pergerakan armada diatas langit tetangganya, otoritas penerbangan kita sudah amat rabun untuk memantau pergerakan pesawat di atas atmofirnya.

Read More

Traveling Abroad

When Traveling Abroad, Use Your EQ 

What do you do if you don’t apperceive the accent or customs? That’s if your EQ, or Emotional Intelligence, comes in handy. 

On my contempo bout to Russia, the humans in ample cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg) knew English, but not in the babyish villages (Yaroslavl, Uglich). 

I anticipation I’d aces up Russian quickly, but I didn’t for several reasons:

1. Jet Lag turns your cerebration academician (neocortex) to mush
2. You can’t “picture” the words because the Russian alphabet is Cyrillic; i.e., Catherine the Great’s antecedent is “E” because in Russian, it’s Ecaterina.
3. Russian’s not a “Romance language”. The sounds and accent aren’t familiar. They acquire sounds that don’t abide in English.
4. Russian humans are affable and agilely charming, but they’re careful workers who break focused. They’d aswell rather advance their English than advise you Russian.
5. They’re aloof in accessible so you don’t apprehend a lot of words. If I said, “Good morning” in Russian, I’d get back, “Good morning.” Silence.

RELY ON YOUR NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION.

One affair I did was amplify my announcement (pleading) and gestures (2 fingers for $2), and put some amore in my eyes. Abhorrence is contagious; so is trust. Their expressions, if revealed, were absolutely recognizable, i.e., a shrug, breaking eye-contact if they’ve fabricated their endure offer. 

SCARY BABUSHKA

In museums such as the Hermitage or the Armory, earlier women sit in a armchair in anniversary room. It’s their job to accomplish abiding no one touches anything.

When the Ugly American (Paul) in our bout accumulation affected a blind in Peterhof, the Russian grandmother (babushka) sprang to her anxiety with a thud, clapped her easily twice, loudly, again avant-garde against Paul afraid her feel and barking Russian. We didn’t charge to acquire the words. 

INTERPRETATION PLEASE

But what did this beggarly in this country? Was Paul traveling to Siberia? How could we acquisition out?

One of the things our mother does is adapt for us. A acclaimed agreement involves advisers agreement a babyish on a Plexiglas absorber comatose beyond a top table. If the babyish crawls to the bend of the beheld drop, he’s. It feels solid but looks like a precipice. So he looks over to his Mom to acquisition out what he’s declared to do, which beggarly award out how he’s declared to feel. If she looks happy, he proceeds. If she looks scared, he stops. 

So we angry to Leo, our Russian guide, to see how austere this was. Leo was bedlam and relaxed. A adolescent man with abundant EQ, he bound put his arm about the Russian women, axis her abroad and abatement her. How? Babushkas all over the apple are bendable on adolescent men. 

CATCHING ON QUICK IS ANOTHER EQ COMPETENCY

• – We were warned about the gypsies – such faces, such gestures. Ann, who anticipation they were “sweet” and didn’t listen, got pickpocketed.
• – If you acquire the flowers the youths accord you in the villages, it isn’t a gift. They will abode you with looks until you angle over some money.
• – You’ll bound see the shopkeepers apprehend to bargain. They name a amount and again pause, expectantly.
• – How affected are you to “beautiful lady”? Vendors everywhere apperceive those words in English.
• – Who can abide a child? Here’s Katya active my sister - http://www.theintrovertzcoach.com/islands4.html at Svir Stroy.
• – It’s clearly actionable for Russians to acquire American dollars. Bound you’ll apprentice they all do. Just as continued as you don’t ask. (It isn’t actionable to accord dollars.)
• – Community admiral common acquire a abominable job. A smile goes a continued way with them.

WHAT THE CUSTOM?

You never know. A artery bell-ringer in Saint Petersburg bent my eye and the afterward took place, after any words. I “asked” if I could yield his photo. He was flattered and agreed. I took his photo, again offered him $2. He befuddled his arch no, no. I laid the bills on his tray of matroyshkas. He pocketed the $2, smiling, again handed me a baby and hugged me. 

TELLTALE SIGNS OF REAL LIFE

What’s it like? Analysis out the action of the accessible -- the children, the dogs, and the seniors.

The accouchement were all healthy, tall, able-bodied and well-dressed.  I never saw a ancestor adorning a child, or any charge for it. Evidently their accomplished activity they authority their mother’s duke if walking-like up to age 60.

Check out the amphitheater at Moscow’s North Terminal Park and see how abundant they affliction about their kids. 

The Babushkas were airy and advantageous searching You’ve never apparent such shiny-coated, healthy, well-fed dogs and cats. 

TROMP L’OEIL

That means, in French, fooling the eye—another reality check. There were two incidents of tromp l’oeil I’ll mention.

First, look at this Moscow apartment building: http://www.theintrovertzcoach.com/Moascow%20apartment%20building.jpg . Looks like a slum tenement, doesn’t it? “No,” laughed our guide, Toma. “We don’t take care of the outside of buildings here. There are luxury apartments in there 2200 sq. ft.”

Second, here is Catherine’s Palace (http://www.hum.utah.edu/languages/images/photos/rusphoto32.jpg ). When you arrive in Moscow, you think the buildings are huge. They are huge, but there’s something else going on, because you’ve seen huge buildings before. What they do is build with standard-sized bricks, then plaster over them, them paint them with marks as if they were made of bricks 4x the standard size. Perception warp!

PRIMAL FEAR

Here’s an incident that called for some quick EQ. We were walking in Moscow’s Harbor Park where there were lots of families. I became enchanted with a little girl of about 2, with curls all over her head, and before I knew it, she ran to me, jumped into my arms and gave me a hug and a kiss. Meanwhile, out of the corner of my eyes I could see two agitated parents closing in on me from either side.

Read More