February 2012
11 posts
Ignorance is Bliss
“Forget about the world, I’m groovin with my girl;
Forget about the news, lets put on our dancin shoes.
Let’s not talk about the war, don’t know what they fightin for;
I propose that we go to the floor and we slow dance.”
John Legend -Slow Dance
I
Just a collection of screenshots of my BlackBerry Convos with my favorite person in the world: MY DAD :D
He’s too funny.
Favorite Movie Quotes
From my favorite movies :-)
The Devil Wears Prada:
“People think that success just happens to you. It doesn’t. You want this life? The decision’s yours”. -Miranda
“Let me know when your whole life goes up in smoke. Means it’s time for a promotion.” -Nigel
Love Actually:
[neither understands the other’s language] Jamie: [in English]...
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
“So after all you’ve been through, you’re going to give up? Just like that? NO. You’re going to fight like hell until you can’t fight any longer. That’s what you’re going to do.”
“You will never regret reaching your goal. You will only regret giving up and not trying harder.”
“What we do today is what matters most.”
...
Why Love Matters More (And Less) Than You Think
Another one by one of my favorite authors, Umair Haque from the Harvard Business Review!
So, how was your Valentine’s Day? Me? I had an anti-Valentine’s day at my local bar with the ghost of Albert Camus, an existential crisis, and a decent bottle of wine. Here’s what occurred to the four of us while we were angsting out.
I’ve made the point before that our economy...
Lesson Learned.............
Fact or Fiction? Who gives…Tis a good story:
A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call ASAP, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father going and coming in the hall waiting for the doctor. Once seeing him, the dad yelled: “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my...
Inferiority Complex
Feeling inferior.
Ooh….
It’s a bitter-sweet kind of thing.
It makes you feel depressed and worthless while at the same time, it may just be one of the strongest forces that drive you to self-betterment.
Being surrounded by ultra-high achieving peers with their densely filled future-President-worthy resumes might initially cause envy and the feeling of worthlessness (been there,...
No Room for Failure
An excerpt from a NYTimes article titled: ‘One Percent Education’.
Moral: You wanna survive in this big-bad world? Yes, they say failures help you grow and achieve success….But today, there really is no room for failure. You can make no mistakes. You must always succeed. Oh the pressure.
PS: I bolded the most relevant points.
——-
The emphasis on personal...
Power of Not Knowing
I see you changing girl..
From day to day.
Impressed by and trying to imitate
,
Those who are older.
Those who are colder.
Suddenly embarrassed by your age.
Our bigger blessing, girl,
Is being young.
The power of not knowing,
Where you belong.
KofC obsession!!!
Death is Not to Be Feared
A reconstruction of Socrates’ final speech in the Apology
Death is to be feared only if it’s bad.
Death can be two things: either death is a total annihilation or death is a relocation to another place with all the other dead.
If death is annihilation, then it’s like a dreamless sleep.
If death is a relocation, it’s like a family reunion.
If death’s like a...
January 2012
11 posts
Love, Rationality, and Economics
Economists are irrational for making the assumption that humans are rational in their decision making.
One of the primary principles that we learn as economics students include the fact that all the micro/macroeconomic models and theories in our textbooks are based upon the assumption that humans engage in rational behaviors.
But do humans really?
Obviously, the answer is not.
Behavioral...
Important Emotional Equations
Nietzsche: “He who has a why can bear with almost any how”
—>”Extremes of anguish need not destroy the soul if a sense of purpose remains”
Buddhism: “Pain may be unavoidable but suffering is optional, and it’s the product of struggling against pain”
——-
Emotions = “events + beliefs about events”
Self-esteem=...
“Real success comes from the quality of your relationships and the emotions that...”
10 Questions That Create Success
By Geoffrey James from inc.com.
Think that success means making lots of money? Think again.
Pictures of dead presidents have never made anybody happy. And how can you be successful if you’re not happy? And buying things with that all money isn’t much better. A new car, for instance, might tickle your fancy for a day or two–but pride of ownership is temporary.
Real success comes...
Better Late Than Never
It’s so common for people my age to say that they want to go through the professional/ideal route before finally choosing to do their ‘true passions’ by the time they’re much much older.
For example:
“I will be selling my soul to investment banking for a couple of years..And then I will do whatever I want. Perhaps start a non-profit and help those who are less...
“Happiness comes from the intersection of what you love, what you’re good...”
+ Intelligence = + Cluelessness
“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing” -Socrates
————
As the first week of the 4th semester of my undergraduate career is passing, I have come to realize that the more I learn about various subjects, the more clueless I become.
Oh………………..and the more ‘stupid’ I feel....
Identity Crisis
I often question myself whether I am more American or Indonesian. Ever since I got my US permanent residency at the end of last year (hurray!), I do feel like I need to know where I wish to permanently reside.
I’ve spent a total of more than 20% of my life living in the United States, with the majority of those times during the last few years of my life. Easy to say, my current self has...
50 Things an Undergraduate Student Needs to Know
By Ben Jones, MIT Director of Communications
Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.
Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes.
In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever - just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out,...
2012
In 2012, there are several aspects of my mindset that desperately need to be altered.
One of them is my tendency to always focus too much on where I wish my life to end -sacrificing present happiness for indefinite future success.
As one of this year’s many resolutions, I wish to emphasize deep into my mind and soul that my life should be focused on the journey, not the end of the map....
December 2011
13 posts
“When you’re sorting through your passions, consider what you have the potential...”
– Umar Haque (Marsha, ABSORB this DEEP DEEP down your soul!)
The Art of Living Well
Some quotes I love from Umair Haque’s (Author of Betterness: Economic for Humans, ranked one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50) article on the Harvard Business Review.
“What’s important is that what you’re doing matters — to yourself, to the people you love, and to something bigger, whether your community, society, or even...
Life and Music
By British Philosopher Alan Watts.
In music, though, one doesn’t make the end of the composition the point of the composition.
If that were so, the best conductors would be those who played fastest; and there would be composers who only wrote finales.
People go to concerts only to hear one crashing chord - because that’s the end…
Now, but we don’t see that as something brought by our...
Law & Innovation
A policy memo with a brief background on American law, to those interested :D
Innovation and growth of a country rely heavily upon the legal framework of the nation itself. The legal structure could either enhance the government to be efficient in various sectors, or prevent innovation and growth.
In Law & Economics, there are two types of efficiencies: Static & Dynamic. Static...
A Letter to Thomas Friedman
Dear Mr. Friedman,
In six moons, I ought to conquer;
A floating metal, ascending through the stratosphere.
Disguised as a star, induced by the wind;
Gliding along the circumference, contrasting universes transpire.
The ticking clock adjudicates, the distance restrains;
From longitudes to attitudes, the resistance is insignificant.
A vacuum filled with ambitions, indistinguishable from...
“My dream is to become an Ecnassianer Namow.”
If the Mayans were correct....
That means we all have exactly one more year left before the end of the world.
(Yes, yes I am aware of the actual history behind their calendar..So I guess, assuming the society’s common misconception towards the Mayan’s prediction is correct….)
Life is too short……………….(I basically fail miserably on almost all of these)
To neglect our true...
“Ah, worries. They’re just another variable in our life differential...”
The Top 5 Regrets People Have on Their Deathbeds
Shared by my lovely friend Sasha Kanarski via TMW
When Ms. Bronnie Ware, a woman who worked for years with the dying, wrote a list of the top 5 regrets people say aloud on their deathbed, we teared up a little bit here at TNW.
She posted the top 5 regrets along with her commentary on her website, and we’ve recopied them for you here below. But instead of just the grandmotherly bits of advice...
“I am 100% certain that I will one day read my old blog posts and laugh...”
Life is Like a Business Cycle
I would like to thank Steve Jobs, the Dalai Lama, and the 1929 stock-market crash of the United States for being the dominant inspirations for this post.
——-
Irving Fisher, a prominent economist from Yale University, announced the week before the US ‘stocks fell off the brink’ at the end of 1920s that the US were experiencing a “permanently high plateau”. Relating this to my recent IPE...
November 2011
1 post
Vanderbilt University
According to Urban Dictionary:
This is the greatest place on Earth and can only be described with one word: Heaven.
A prestigious university in Nashville, Tennessee, that boasts the greatest party scene of any Top 20 school. The girls here are hot; the guys here are lucky; the frats and sororities have their own little worlds that you can choose to be a part of or not.
Where everyone is too...
October 2011
5 posts
“You wanna be happy? Find someone you love and never let them go.”
The World According to the United States of...
Source: AlphaDesigner
1. North America
Greenland – Ice Cap Alaska – Hockey Moms Canada – Vegetarians United States (mainland) – Civilized World Mexico – Maids and Gardeners Guatemala – Fringe Lab Belize – ? El Salvador – N.A. Honduras – Mess Nicaragua – Reagan’s Rancho Costa Rica – Jungle Panama (joined with Ecuador) – Banana Republic Cuba – Quarantine Jamaica – Reggae Haiti – Poverty...
Religious Affiliation & National Identity
When Hilary Clinton came to visit Indonesia two years ago, she mentioned, “If you want to see democracy, Islam, modernity, and women’s rights coexisting in one place, then come to Indonesia. Because I believe this place is more about the future than many other places in the world”.
While I agree with her statement, I believe there are several significant aspects of our government (in...
Big Fish, Small Fish
Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in the big sea?
Personally, I’d rather be a small fish in the big sea. The boyfriend of one of my good friends, however, had a better answer. He said, “I’d rather be a big fish in a big sea” #LOL.
As humorous and overly-idealistic as it sounds, his answer is exactly why I’d rather be a small fish in...
Memorable Quotes by Steve Jobs
No words can express how thankful I am for your revolutionary designs, Mr. Jobs! REST IN PEACE & I’m certain that our prayers will bring you eternal happiness in heaven!
“STAY HUNGRY AND FOOLISH!”
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped living with the results of other people’s thinking.”
...
September 2011
7 posts
A 'Capitalistic Bitch' Talks About Political...
During a semi-intense discussion about politics at lunch last week, one of my good friends straight up said, “Marsha, you’re such a capitalistic bitch!”
First of all, I don’t really define myself as a capitalist. Just because the first thought that came to my mind after the BP oil spill was, “Oh my, this is terrible! BP must be losing so much money!” instead...
“The more I know, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”
I LOVE...
…..my Business & Public Policy class.
Hands down the epitome of intellectual paradise.
May God bless me with the power, opportunity, and willingness to pursue my soul-less dream to become a corporate lawyer.
AMEN.
A Decade Since 9/11: What Does it Mean for...
At least one Indonesian soul was taken away from the face of the earth at the 9/11 attacks; but was he the only Indonesian who was ‘killed’ by this cataclysmic event?
Osama bin Laden killed not only thousands of lives, but also millions of dreams. In addition to the invaluable amount of intellectual capital taken away at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the number of troops killed...
“Well-said by ma homeboi Adam Smith: “The study of an individual’s...”
3 tags
What Drives Foreign-Educated Indonesians Away?
A couple of nights ago, I had dinner with the only other two Indonesian students at my current University: An MBA student concentrating in Finance who previously worked at a ‘Big 4 Accounting firm’ and a Fulbright scholar pursuing a Master’s Degree in Economic Development. Unlike me, both of these people obtained their undergraduate degrees in Indonesia and spent their entire lives before...
August 2011
2 posts
UPDATE
Dear all,
I’m entering my second week of my sophomore year and I already have a sheeeeet-ton of HW to do (of course, due to my over-achieving self who decided to overload my classes..hopefully my GPA can survive :p) so I doubt that I’d have sufficient time to update this blog :( Maybe this weekend? I have some interesting things to rant about, as per usual :p
Ciao and hope you all...
“When I was a teenager, I felt like we were always being stereotyped as being...”