Olivia Esther Jo

Here is a letter that Ingrid and I wrote to our dearest daughter, Olivia Esther Jo.

To our dearest daughter Olivia Esther Jo,

This message was written when you were still in mommy's womb.

Mommy and Daddy are currently full of joy in anticipating your birth.

 

We want you to know that you are dearly loved by both of us and we want you to realize that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Your birth means a lot to us and we would like to express that by choosing a wonderful and meaningful name for you.

 

Your first name is Olivia. The name symbolizes peace, which we hope that you will grow to embrace its deep meaning and be a peacemaker wherever you may be. You are born in the era where differences may not always be considered as a gain but sometimes considered as threat. God teaches us to love one another, our neighbors, and our enemies, who are definitely different from you in many ways.

 

Your middle name is Esther. The name is taken from a character found in the bible, which is Queen Esther. She was a very beautiful queen yet very modest. She was a courageous young woman who risks her life to answer God's calling to save the Jews. We pray that you too will be like Queen Esther who seeks and answers to God’s call in your life. Esther also symbolizes simple, uncomplicated love, joy, happiness, marital fidelity, purity, protection and beauty.

 

Your last name is Jo. The name is translated from a Chinese clan "Yang", which belongs to most famous Chinese Generals. Daddy doesn't know about those general but Daddy does admire this name a lot because it reminds me of your great grandfather who is a hard worker, industrious, loving, and visionary man.

 

There will be times when you fall down in your life journey but Daddy and Mommy hope that you can reread this message, realize how much you are loved, and pick yourself back up by God's grace.

May the grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always, our dearest daughter Olivia Esther Jo.

Love always,

Daddy and Mommy

Jakarta, 20 November 2014 

Who is going to pay for that ?

I was recently involved in a discussion regarding a project issue. We are trying to reach to an agreement before any kind of implementation activities can rightfully commence. The problem is not a simple one as it involves trust and commitment to deliver what is being discussed as scope. In my experience, it is actually normal to face an issue such as the one I am currently facing, two distinct parties who have not worked together before and was acquainted due to a project. It is natural for both of the parties to get to know one another and develop trust. However, it is clear to me that though it is a normal problem to have, it is not a simple problem to solve.

One of the problems at hand is that the requirement stated in the statement of work is ambiguous. It is not clear as to what level of effort will be needed to develop the solution that is requested. Logically, the solution would be to have the right people discuss the level of details needed to eliminate the ambiguity. However, the problem is that this kind of activity will require some level of effort from both parties. Who is going to fund this activity if it is done before any agreement is signed? Yes, this activity is required but the idea is to list the requirement in a very high level statement and hash out the details later as the project progresses (after agreement was signed). There is a risk for this kind of activity but the idea is to set aside the right amount of buffer to accommodate the actually effort needed.

The insight I received from this particular conversation is the fact that nothing is truly free. It may appear free to you but somebody needs to shoulder the burden. If a retailer give something for free to the customer, the cost has actually been paid by the retailer themselves. The point is somebody needs to bear the burden. It is quite similar to our sin. We may think that the impact is minimal or sometimes appear negligible but it is still a sin. Who is going to pay for that ? the answer is clear if we have accepted Christ into our life, it is Christ!

Lessons from the movie Gravity

Ingrid and I went for a movie yesterday. After carefully weighing our decision of which movies to watch, we decided to watch the movie Gravity. The movie is rated 98% in rotten-tomatoes site so we expect a good movie. Without talking in details about the movie, we did enjoy the movie and it was a great one. I didn't regret picking this movie.

The movie was about astronauts experience in space. They had a mission to fix a satellite and faced with an imminent danger when debris of a blown Russian satellite came in their path.  Dr. Ryan Stone became the sole survivor and made it back to earth after going through many death threatening events.

The movie is great not only because of the effects and the momentary science journey in space, but it was also due to the lessons taught by the astronauts.

Several lessons:

1. Being Selfless, this lesson came from the space-craft's pilot, Matt. He sacrificed his life so that Dr. Ryan can survive. He saved Dr. Ryan from getting lost in space and took her to the Soyuz ( the closest space station ). Unfortunately, his jetpack is out of fuel and they had risk their last jet push to get close to the Soyuz. Dr. Ryan managed to get herself strapped on some flying cables but Matt wasn't so lucky. Matt ordered Dr. Ryan, who did manage to grab Matt's hand, to let him go. Otherwise, nobody is going to make it back to earth alive. 
2. Struggle to survive, Matt did not part with Dr. Ryan without leaving her with safety directions and positive reinforcement. It is what she needed the most, knowing that she is not a pilot. Dr. Stone did panic and almost given up on her run for safety but Matt came into her dream and gave some insight to get her spaceship moving. What striked me the most was his positive attitude which was a turning point for Dr. Stone to continue in her struggle for a safe trip to earth.
3. Living life to the fullest, Dr. Stone was going to give up but her encounter with Matt in her dream reminded her that life is bumpy road. If she chooses to be away from people's disturbance, she can choose to be in her current silence inside of the spaceship and face an impending death. To live is to adapt with imperfection and face miseries head on.
4. Learning to let go, Dr. Stone wanted to safe Matt from a sure death but it was totally impossible since they didn't have any tools to aid the saving process. Matt asked Dr. Stone to let him go, which was a learning process for her at the time.

Just in case, I forgot about the movie. Here is the link to the official site http://gravitymovie.warnerbros.com/

Lesson learned

There are 2 things that I have in mind, which I have learned through my observation:

1. Story Telling
2. Asking Questions

These are the 2 skills which I think is very important for me to have. They will help enhance my interaction with people and in getting to know them better.

These skills require experience. Telling an interesting story at the right time suggest that it is something that has been through time. Asking the right questions when you only have such a short window of time also suggest that you have thought it through over time and get to the point quickly without rushing the person you are talking with.

These two skills come from two leaders, who I admire and fortunately working with. I have lots to learn and put them in application.

Thinking about Business naming

Bumped on several interesting sites regarding business naming (check blog postings and URLs below)

It is certainly interesting to think about what name you want for your company/product. The name should inherently represent what the company/product is all about. The name should in same sense explain what the customer will get or think about. My own experience on this has been very informal. My team and I didn't go through any laborious process but one thing for sure it should concisely represent what you are trying to name ( in my case, company and product naming ). Good name will stick in people's mind and complicated names won't. (e.g: TurboTax vs Jackson Hewitt Tax service)

The new rules of naming and Naming a business

Some of word naming tools
http://www.nameboy.com/
http://wordoid.com/