alexabimanyu™

I want to share a little story on why i move out from IDX, move to SEI and build Shimmer Inc.

Some people said I was crazy enough to leave IDX (www.idx.co.id) and opt for a fairly new company. IDX gave me and all the employees there, the chance to learn, opportunity to enhance your network, steady environment and other endless benefits being the only player in the industry (until someone brave enough to create another bourse).

SEI (www.speaker-exchange.com) is a fairly new company in a new industry which non-existent prior to the formation of SEI. SEI was the first Speaker Bureau in Indonesia, I believe some of you doesn’t even know what that is. At SEI we help clients on providing speaking topic, speaker and content, customized it by request for their events, seminars, conferences, workshops etc. In addition to that, we also create training modules and yes, all of those are for any industry.

Shimmer Inc. (www.shimmerinc.com) is my own venture on photography industry, we emphasize on concept rather than usual photo/makeup session and we also provide photography clinic.

And what my answer was? Passion. Yes, passion. Life is not all about money and steadyness. Money certainly helps (very much) but at least for me, it wasn’t the main reason to live. The passion on creation, building things, making things happen, it was the reason why I decided to quit and I did not regret my decision.

I always start the day thinking that today may be the end of my life and by thinking that I feel the jolt and energy to do new things, think out loud every day. I don’t want to die when i realize that i haven’t actually live my life to the fullest.

Earlier this week, I sat with a good friend of mine, Rene Suhardono (www.passionoutloud.com), the guy who always asked questions about your passion, hehe. He told me not to stop finding my passion and if i found it, hang on to it. Passion will lead me to success which is not being the best, but being your self-best. Big thanks for him on saying that.

Some people out there working their ass off for 10-20 years without knowing their passion. They have titles VP, MD, CEO, name it, but that’s merely title, stripped that and they might be nobody. You don’t want that happen to you.

I will end this story by borrowing Rene’s question, ‘what is your passion?’

Today is Ash Wednesday in Modern Christianity world. What is it exactly?

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days (forty days not counting Sundays) before Easter. It falls on a different date each year, because it is dependent on the date of Easter; it can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year’s Palm Sunday are burned. In the liturgical practice of some churches, the ashes are mixed with the Oil of the Catechumens (one of the sacred oils used to anoint those about to be baptized), though some churches use ordinary oil.

This paste is used by the priest who presides at the service to make the sign of the cross, first upon his own forehead and then on each of those present who kneel before him at the altar rail. As he does so, he recites the words: “Remember (O man) that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Best picture
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire”

Director
WINNER: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Gus Van Sant, “Milk”

Actor
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
WINNER: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
WINNER: Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

Supporting actor
Josh Brolin, “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
WINNER: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”

Supporting actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
WINNER: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

Animated feature
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
WINNER: “WALL-E”

Adapted screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” screenplay by Eric Roth, screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt,” written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon,” screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader,” screenplay by David Hare
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay
“Frozen River,” written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky,” written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges,” written by Martin McDonagh
WINNER: “Milk,” written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E,” screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Art direction
“Changeling,” James J. Murakami; set decoration: Gary Fettis
WINNER: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Donald Graham Burt; set decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight,” Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess,” Michael Carlin; set decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road,” Kristi Zea; set decoration: Debra Schutt

Cinematography
“Changeling,” Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight,” Wally Pfister
“The Reader,” Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” Anthony Dod Mantle

Costume design
“Australia,” Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Jacqueline West
WINNER: “The Duchess,” Michael O’Connor
“Milk,” Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road,” Albert Wolsky

Documentary feature
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
WINNER: “Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

Documentary short
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
WINNER: “Smile Pinki”
“The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306″

Film editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight,” Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon,” Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk,” Elliot Graham
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” Chris Dickens

Foreign language film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany
“The Class,” France
WINNER: “Departures,” Japan
“Revanche,” Austria
“Waltz with Bashir,” Israel

Makeup
WINNER: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight,” John Caglione Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Original score
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance,” James Newton Howard
“Milk,” Danny Elfman
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E,” Thomas Newman

Original song
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, lyrics by Peter Gabriel
WINNER: “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” music and lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Animated short
WINNER: “La Maison en Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory — Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up”

Live-action short
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphalt”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
WINNER: “Spielzeugland”

Sound editing
WINNER: “The Dark Knight,” Richard King
“Iron Man,” Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire,” Glenn Freemantle and Tom Sayers
“WALL-E,” Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted,” Wylie Stateman

Sound mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
“The Dark Knight,” Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
WINNER: “Slumdog Millionaire,” Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E,” Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted,” Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Visual effects
WINNER: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight,” Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man,” John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Thursday 26 March – Sunday 29 March Australian Grand Prix – Melbourne

Friday 3 April – Sunday 5 April Malaysian Grand Prix – Sepang

Friday 17 April – Sunday 19 April Chinese Grand Prix – Shanghai

Friday 24 April – Sunday 26 April Bahrain Grand Prix – Manama

Friday 8 May – Sunday 10 May Spanish Grand Prix – Montmelo

Thursday 21 May – Sunday 24 May Monaco Grand Prix – Monaco

Friday 5 June – Sunday 7 June Turkish Grand Prix – Istanbul

Friday 19 June – Sunday 21 June British Grand Prix – Silverstone

Friday 10 July – Sunday 12 July German Grand Prix – Hockenheim

Friday 24 July – Sunday 26 July Hungarian Grand Prix – Budapest

Friday 21 August – Sunday 23 August European Grand Prix – Valencia

Friday 28 August – Sunday 30 August Belgian Grand Prix – Francorchamps

Friday 11 September – Sunday 13 September Italian Grand Prix – Monza

Friday 25 September – Sunday 27 September Singapore Grand Prix – Singapore

Friday 2 October – Sunday 4 October Japanese Grand Prix – Fuji

Friday 16 October – Sunday 18 October Brazilian Grand Prix – Sao Paulo

Friday 30 October – Sunday 1 November Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Abu Dhabi

Dear friends,

I am now working as Managing Director in Speaker Exchange Indonesia.
What is it? Speaker Exchange Indonesia or SEI is the first Indonesian Speaker Bureau with the aspiration to create speaker bureau with infrastructure, vendor relations and technology support while maintaining intimate personalized client approach.

We aim to become a premier high quality, value-focused speaker bureau in Indonesia serving top corporations, financial institutions, associations and government agencies. A successful and rewarding client relationship is built upon the basic philosophy of understanding client’s need. Which is why the entire SEI team is committed to delivering seamless speaking topic, speaker and content, developing customized and efficient process.

Services of SEI – besides specializing in MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Events), we offer a variety of extended service areas including company updates (sales meetings, training seminars, incentive & motivational programs, CEO & Executive retreats), marketing programs (road shows, grand opening events, exhibition), special corporate hospitality events, and commercial events. Clients hire SEI to handle a tailor-made, specific scope of services related to the speaker and content construction/management of the presentation. Nevertheless, depending on the client’s needs, expertise and budget, we are fully equipped to handle all creative, technical and logistical elements of the event.

There you go.. hope you get a glimpse of what it is.. don’t forget to visit us at www.speaker-exchange.com

Dear all,

If you feel that you or anyone you know is the perfect candidate for the event below, kindly register with us at your earliest convinience.

Kindly spread the news around.

Thanks a bunch!

SINGLE THIS VALENTINE’S DAY?
NOT FOR LONG … !!!

Are you?

Single and available

Ready to mingle

University educated

Between the ages of 25 to 40

Hold a steady job

Join us:

What: Speed dating

Where: PORTOBELLO

Midplaza 2 Building

Lobby Level

Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 10 -11

When: Friday, February 13th 2009

Time: 08.00 PM

Dress to Impress!

Speed dating is free of charge.

Participants are entitled to free first drinks and snacks and are eligible for door prizes.

Tarrot Card reading will be available during the event and Live band performance after 10 PM.

You are encouraged to bring supporters, preferably proffesional singles, between the ages of 27 – 40 and university educated.

For more details on speed dating, please see additional information below.

Registration forms and more information on organizers have been emailed to you earlier. Please return forms by February 6th 2009 to kencancepat@hotmail.com or email for more forms.

NOTES:
Q. What is speed dating?
A. Men and women are rotated to meet each other over a series of short “dates”, usually lasting for 3 -5 minutes, the organizer rings a bell or clinks a glass to signal the participants to move on to the next date.

Q. What kind of people will I meet?

A. Our guests are single professionals, between the ages of 27 – 40 and university educated. Speed dating is still a relatively new concept, so our guests are the early adopters that try out new things before the rest of society.

Q. When is the event held?

A. Our guests have busy social lives on the weekend, so it will be on a Friday night after working hours, giving you sufficient time to look for a date on Valentine’s on the next day. Event will be in PORTOBELO, Lobby Level – Midplaza 2 Building at Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 10 -11.

Q. What time do the events begin and end?

A. Door opens at 07:00 PM Give yourselves enough time to register, grab a drink and mingle a bit, or check out your prospective dates. Dating begins sharply at 08:00 PM and runs until approximately 9:15 p.m. There is a 5 minute break at 8:30 PM and mingling session at the end of event till closing

Q. Are there always equal numbers of men and women at these events?

A. We go to very great lengths to ensure that we have an equal number of men and women at each of our events.

Q. What’s the dress code?

A. You’re going on a series of first dates, so dress to impress!

Q. What if I still have more questions?

A. If more questions are still swirling around in your head, you can email us at kencancepat@hotmail.com

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow, February 4, 2009 is the World Cancer Day. My wife, Dinda, will share her cancer-surviving experience in Cosmopolitan Radio 90.4FM Jakarta. Please do tune in and spread the word.

Let’s stand up to cancer!