And the grade is….

AN 8.5 OUT OF 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALHAMDULILLAHHHH :D :D :D

It is with pleasure and deepest gratitude that I acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals and groups to the development of my dissertation. First and foremost, I wish to thank my academic supervisor, Drs. Donald C. Ropes for his tremendous efforts and support. His expertise, guidance, and patience added considerably to the development of my dissertation topic. I am especially grateful to Tim Werkhoven from British American Tobacco for taking time out from his busy schedule to serve as my external supervisor. I would also like to thank Cees Foet and Julie Munstermann for the interviews that clarified my thinking on this matter. I am indebted to Andrew Land, Kemal Supelli and David Cinanni who contributed to my dissertation with their editing assistance, informal reviews and fixes. Their professional collaboration has meant a great deal to me. I also want to thank my family for their love and for their tangible and emotional support. Many friends, in various ways, provided support and inspiration. I thank them all, in particular Fira, Dilla, Diar, Karin, Dewi, Cici, Chaki and Dimas. Last but not least, my special thanks go out to Akbar for his motivation throughout my study and stay in The Netherlands. My dissertation would have never been brought to fruition without their support, comments and care.

SATC The Movie. Me likey!

SPOILER-FREE!

After years and years of waiting, I finally watched Sex and the City the movie last Saturday with Akbar, Chaki and Kemal. The tickets had already sold out when we arrived in Pathé de Munt. Smart enough that we booked it a few days in advance. Anyways..the cinema was indeed full of groups of girls dressing up a la SATC. I am not going to write my very own review of this movie, as I still have piles of works to do today. But this is what the Daily News has to say about the movie, which I totally agree on!

“It’s three years and three books later for quintessential New York writer Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), the central figure around whom friends Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), CharlotteKristin Davis) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) revolve. Carrie still loves Big (Chris Noth) and they happily split time between his and her apartments while searching for Manhattan’s Holy Grail – the perfect abode for two. Marriage, it appears, has never entered the equation. (

Miranda is settled in Brooklyn with husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), and son, Brady. Upper East Side fixture Charlotte is mom to adopted daughter Lily, and Samantha has relocated to Los Angeles, where she spends her time managing the publicity for boyfriend Smith (Jason Lewis), a hot commodity in Hollywood.

With characters now 40 and older, story lines no longer hinge on getting into the latest bar or obtaining the “it” bag of the moment. Michael Patrick King (who shoulders directing and writing duties) wisely centers the story about matters of the heart. After finding true love – as all four women had in the finale of the hit HBO series that ran from 1998 through 2004 – what comes next? Anyone who has watched the film’s trailer knows that Carrie and Big find their dream apartment, and all of a sudden, a wedding seems the right thing to do. Disaster, of course, looms just over the horizon. Not only for Carrie, but everyone in the group.

Miranda and Steve reach an impasse in their marriage as Charlotte worries over her miracle pregnancy. Over on the West Coast, Samantha can’t seem to reconcile her love for Smith with her unease at being absent from the city she loves most. There’s also the sexy neighbor ready to test Samantha’s monogamous state.

The film’s initial awkwardness quickly disappears as King and his leading ladies quickly hit their stiletto-shod strides. Throughout, the four women turn in sensitive, solid performances – what you would expect from a cast totally familiar with the territory. Parker and Nixon shine particularly bright.

The real joy of “SATC” as a movie lies in the return of all those things that mass television syndication has stripped from the series in the intervening years. The “Oh, my God, they did not just do that!” moments, the nudity, the swearing, the unabashed love of human frailty and downright wackiness. Snappy, verbal sparring punctuates the laughs and more than a few shed-a-tear moments.

There’s still sex, except now it’s not “how big?” or “where?” but the age-old marriage conundrum of “how often?” And the city? Sure, it has changed since 1998, but who can argue when Samantha shouts down a Gotham naysayer with, “Old New York, new New York, it’s still f—–g New York!”

Costume designer/stylist Patricia Field fills every scene with enough labels to keep any fashionista salivating. Rightly, though, the majority of label lust is left to Carrie’s twentysomething, fresh-to-the-city assistant Louise (Jennifer Hudson in a pivotal plot role).

Will love conquer all? Is age only a number? Does Samantha sleep with her hot neighbor? I’m not telling. But just like any great night out with best friends, “Sex and the City: The Movie” is awash with so much love that it lingers long after the last cocktail runs dry.”

In short, I LOVED it! Although the movie was long, I didn’t get bored even for a second. And I was totally blown away by the plot and the emotional ups and downs of the characters. The audience clapped their hands and cheered when Charlotte shouts “I curse the day you were born” to Big. I am not exaggarating, I actually got teary at one point of the movie..haha! I didn’t mind the over-the-top product placement, I think SATC the movie was very entertaining! ****

Au revoir Les Blues

France lost to Italy. That was sheer luck for Italy, they played poorly against ten people. Buffon was great though, as usual! What else can I say? the ball is round, nothing is impossible in football. Now it’s the perfect time to change a winning team. Viva Hollandia! To Mr. Andrew Land: I admit defeat mylord! ha.

Done.

I am now approaching the end of an era. If everything goes as planned (amiiin), I will end my life as a student and start working full-time in July. Well…nothing is 100% sure yet. I guess we’ll find out really soon. My teacher will e-mail me the collective grade of my thesis and presentation on Thursday. It feels really good, ya know, came home after defending my thesis and just relaxing without having to think of what else I should do for my thesis and stuff. I never enjoy waiting, of course. But at this point, there is nothing left to do but playing the waiting game. A little bit about the presentation yesterday, all in all it went pretty well. The atmosphere was pretty laid back with minimal “deadly” questions. It was even better and more comforting to have my housemates (Kemal and Chaki), classmates (Andrea and Roxanne) and Akbar watching (thanks guys :D). One of the teachers said that I was talking a little too fast and had a bit too much of information in my presentation. But despite those minor technical problems, the messages I was trying to get across were well understood, so it’s ok. Summarizing a 40-something-page report into a 15-minute presentation was definitely not the easiest thing to do (at least for me). But anywayssssss….it’s over..for now! And right now, I have to focus on this report that I must deliver to my managers before next Tuesday. Gee I need a holiday. Am really looking forward to going to Hamburg and Berlin next week..yaay…! oh and to watching John Mayer next Sunday…yippy!!! and to getting my grade on Thursday…uh-oohh..! people please pray together with me!!!??? :)

I miss you but I hate you.

Slank performing “I miss you but I hate you”. I recorded the video during their performance in The Hague. Not sure why I posted this today. But well…enjoy!

ps: Today is Friday the 13th…I hope Italy won’t have bad luck against Romania tonight. Holland will also play against France..wohoo! For the ones who lose, just blame it on the date.

Football Fever

The title says it all. Yes I’m infected. I’ve been a huge fan of football since, ehm, a week ago. This whole Euro Cup excitement sure has affected me and my daily routine. I actually have something to look forward to after work (besides dinner and bed time). To take the excitement up a notch, someone sets up this pool in the company, resulting in an even greater eagerness to watch every single match on TV. All employees were invited to give 5 Euro stake together with their forecasts before the competition kicks off. A point system is applied, which means those with the biggest points will get a certain precentage of the stakes. 55% for the first winner and 30% and 15% for the second and third winners respectively. The following rules apply:

• Every correct “exact” half-time-score delivers 1 point;
• Every correct final score delivers 2 points;
• Every correct “exact” final score delivers 1 bonus point;
• Every correct quarter finalist delivers 2 points;
• Every correct classification of the quarter finalists in the group (classification 1st or 2nd in the group) delivers 2 bonus points;
• Every correct semi finalist delivers 3 points;
• Every correct finalist delivers 4 points;
• Correct European Champion delivers 8 points.

I have successfully gained 18 points within 5 days. I am currently the 13th rank holder out of 65 people participating in the pool, only 6 points gap with the first rank holder. I, of course, expect to gain many more points within the upcoming days. I won’t tell you which country I (and Dimas) think will be the winner, not just yet. But I’ll give some updates really soon.

On another subject, I am only a few days away from my thesis presentation. So please wish me luck, guys!! ;) If I pass -and with a satisfying grade (red: an 8 or a 9)- then I will be a happy camper. For those who don’t know me that well, yes I am a bloody ambitious person! and a control freak, too! hahaha.