#863 - Five Thoughts of the Week

ENGLISH

1. Lately, my entries have been about traveling, traveling, and traveling and not really much about what I have been going through in my daily life here. I am afraid it triggers the impression that what I do here in the Netherlands is just having fun and going around freely like a person who has nothing on his shoulder. Well, of course it would have been nice, but that is not the way life is, right? In a daily basis, I work my ass off working on all stuffs from my campus. I know that I must work hard but it does not mean I need to be on working mode 24/7, right? A little balance plays a vital role to succeed.


2. You might recall that I am a big fan of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Well, true, I am a big fan, but not a hardcore fan, apparently. Back in Indonesia, the only way I watched this sitcom is through tv. And since everything was kinda left behind in Asia, I had only watched (almost) three seasons of HIMYM before I moved to the Netherlands this August. Kinda sad because this year, the sixth season is on air in the US.
   
   Anyway, so last week my friends talked about the fifth season of HIMYM and I asked them where they watched it. They said they watched it online and I asked them for the link and they gave me that link. So, up to now, one week after my friends gave me that link, I have finished season 4. It means that I have watched one and a quarter season (because I had to "patch" some "holes" in season three as I missed some episodes of it back in Indonesia). Wow, kinda proud of it, LOL.


3. It is quite surprising to see Clint and Steuart lost in this week's episode of The Apprentice US season 10. The editors made it like they would win while Liza and Brandy screwed up. This was a smart "move" by the editors as this far, we have been "fed" with the impression that Liza was useless while Clint and Steuart would likely to be the final two (with their impressive winning streak and boardroom-free until this stage of the competition) and Brandy was kinda strong but tend to play it "safe". If we "believe" the story the editors told us, we would have guessed Liza would probably be fired this week. See, smart move, right? They made us think Liza was the weakest candidate out of the four and they made us think her team screwed up this week. But in the end, Liza and Brandy won and it totally went out of the (pre-designed) expectation!
   
   Anyway, but I agree that it must have been a really difficult call for Donald Trump to make a decision whether he would fire Clint or Steuart. And I also like both of them. They were really classy up there in the boardroom. They respected each other and did not throw the other one under the bus with sadistic heartless dirty move (like, apparently, some other candidates (not only from this season but also from many previous seasons) did).
   
   Next week's episode will be the first part of the finale, which means that at the beginning of the episode, one of the remaining three would be fired. If I have to guess now, based on the story the producers have thrown to us, I think Liza would likely to be fired at this point. But we will see... .
   
   Anyway, it makes me think of something. Let's say, in this episode, Clint and Steuart had won. So, Trump had to fire either Liza or Brandy. Clint and Steuart were safe, and they were (of course) the most favorite finale candidates. Would Trump still (only) have fired one candidate between Liza and Brandy or would he have fired both Liza and Brandy just like what he did in the final four of season four and five where he fired both candidates in the losing team of the final four? Quite interesting...


4. I am excited when I read the weather forecast for this week that it would be snowing in Delft!! Well, having lived in Indonesia for my whole life until last August, of course I have never experienced "snowing" weather in my life. That is why I am so excited!! Last Wednesday, I read it would be snowing that night. I was so exhausted that day because Wednesday is a long day for me this semester. But I tried my best to stay awake as I wanted (that bad) to see the snow. Until midnight, it was still not snowing. Sure it was damn cold outside my room, but there was still no snow. Okay, I gave up. I went to bed. The next morning, my friend posted some pictures in Facebook that that night, it was really snowing in my neighborhood!! It was at about 2 AM!! Daaaammmnnnn....


5. This sucks:
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   I know that they put their ad there and it was from the ad that the live coverage streaming could be performed. But: Did they really have to put the ad there?? It blocked the score for God's sake!! Why did not they move it just a little bit away so that watcher can still enjoy the broadcast completely with the factual scoreline?

BAHASA INDONESIA

1. Akhir-akhir ini, posting-ku berkutat di seputar jalan-jalan, jalan-jalan, dan jalan-jalan dan bukan tentang apa yang terjadi sehari-hari disini. Aku agak khawatir kalau hal itu menyebabkan munculnya impresi bahwa apa yang aku lakukan di Belanda ini hanyalah bersenang-senang dan keliling-keliling dengan bebas tanpa beban. Yah, memang sih hal kaya gitu tuh menyenangkan sekali, cuma masalahnya hidup tu nggak seperti itu kan? Sehari-hari, aku juga kerja keras banget nih mengerjakan banyak hal dari kampus. Aku tahu bahwa aku harus bekerja keras tapi bukan berarti aku harus selalu dalam mode bekerja setiap waktu kan? Keseimbangan kan memainkan peran penting untuk sukses.


2. Mungkin pada ingat kalau aku sangat ngefans sama sitkom How I Met Your Mother. Yup, betul bahwa aku sangat ngefans sama HIMYM, tapi nggak fanatik, ternyata. Waktu di Indonesia dulu, aku hanya menonton sitkom ini di tv. Dan karena semua hal itu agak tertinggal di Asia, aku hanya menonton (hampir) tiga musim pertama dari HIMYM sebelum aku pindah ke Belanda Agustus lalu. Agak menyedihkan juga sih, soalnya tahun ini musim keenam dimainkan di Amrik.
   
   Ngomong2, minggu lalu temanku ngobrol tentang musim kelima dari HIMYM dan aku bertanya ke mereka dimana mereka nonton. Kata mereka sih mereka nonton online dan aku meminta link-nya dan kemudian mereka memberiku link-nya itu. Nah, sampai sekarang, seminggu setelah temanku memberiku link itu, aku sudah selesai menonton musim keempat. Yang artinya, aku sudah menonton sekitar satu seperempat musim (soalnya aku juga harus "menambal" beberapa "lubang" di musim tiga karena aku nggak sempat nonton beberapa episode itu di Indonesia). Cukup bangga dengannya, LOL.


3. Agak mengejutkan juga melihat Clint dan Steuart kalah di episode minggu ini dari The Apprentice US musim 10. Editornya membuat seolah-olah mereka akan menang sementara timnya Liza dan Brandy kacau. Ini adalah "langkah" cerdas dari produser karena sejauh ini, kita sudah dijejali dengan impresi bahwa Liza itu tidak berguna sementara Clint dan Steuart sepertinya akan menjadi dua besar (dengan kemenangan beruntun mereka yang impresif dan bebas dari boardroom sejauh ini) dan Brandy itu lumayan kuat tapi cenderung bermain "aman". Kalau kita "mempercayai" apa yang diberikan editor kepada kita, kita akan menduga kalau Liza yang akan dipecat minggu ini. Nah, langkah cerdas kan? Mereka membuat kita berpikir Liza adalah kandidat yang terlemah di empat besar dan mereka membuat kita merasa timnya Liza kacau. Tapi akhirnya, Liza dan Brandy menang dan ini benar-benar mengejutkan!
   
   Ngomong-ngomong, aku setuju sih kalau minggu ini adalah minggu yang berat untuk Donald Trump untuk memutuskan apakah ia akan memecat Clint atau Steuart. Aku juga suka keduanya. Mereka sangat berkelas di boardroom. Mereka saling menghormati satu sama lain dan tidak memfitnah satu sama lain dengan cara yang kotor nan sadis dan kejam (kaya yang, ternyata, dilakukan kandidat lain (nggak hanya dari musim ini tapi dari banyak musim sebelumnya)).
   
   Episode minggu depan adalah bagian pertama dari final, yang artinya di awal episode, satu diantara tiga yang tersisa akan dipecat. Kalau aku harus menebak sekarang, berdasar cerita yang telah produser acara berikan ke kita, sepertinya Liza yang akan dipecat di titik ini. Tapi akan kita lihat... .
   
   Ngomong2, jadi kepikiran satu hal nih. Andaikata nih, di episode minggu ini, Clint dan Steuart menang. Nah, kini Trump harus memecat antara Liza atau Brandy. Clint dan Steuart aman dan mereka (tentu) adalah kandidat favorit untuk berada di final. Apakah Trump masih akan (hanya) memecat satu di antara Liza dan Brandy atau dia akan memecat kedua Liza dan Brandy seperti yang ia lakukan di empat besar di musim empat dan lima dimana ia memecat semua kandidat di tim yang kalah di empat besar? Menarik....


4. Aku sangat bersemangat ketika membaca ramalan cuaca bahwa minggu ini akan bersalju di Delft!! Yah, karena sebelum ini selalu tinggal di Indonesia sampai Agustus lalu jadinya aku belum pernah merasakan yang namanya cuaca "bersalju" selama ini. Makanya aku sangat bersemangat karenanya!! Rabu alu, aku membaca bahwa malam itu akan bersaljut. Aku capek sekali hari itu karena Rabu adalah hari paling melelahkan buatku. Tapi aku benar-benar mencoba untuk tetap bangun selama mungkin karena aku (sangat) ingin melihat salju itu. Sampe tengah malam, koq belum turun ya saljunya. Akhirnya aku menyerah deh karena memang sudah capek banget, dan aku tidur. Keesokan paginya, temanku mengunggah beberapa foto di Facebook bahwa malam itu memang bersalju di tempatku!! Cuma saljunya turunnya jam 2 pagi!! Siaaaaaaallllll....


5. Hal ini menyebalkan sekali:
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   Aku tahu benar bahwa mereka beriklan di situ dan dari iklan itulah tayangan langsung via internet ini bisa dilangsungkan. Masalahnya: Apa iya gitu iklannya harus ditaruh disitu?? Itu kan nutupin skornya woi!! Mbok ya dipindah dikit kemana kek gitu iklannya, jadi penonton masih bisa menikmati tayangan utuh lengkap dengan skor sementaranya.