#893 - Exercising

ENGLISH

I have always known that exercising is very important. The past one week can be categorized as the week where I had pretty many exercises and I am happy with that! Wow, how could I do that??

So, the story started from the nice and perfect weather we have had in the Netherlands for the past several weeks. It was (mostly) sunny but not too hot nor humid at all. Even last week, on Saturday it reached 22 degree and I found it really HOT!! I can't believe that!! Also, as you have noticed, I have been so busy in campus lately and in a way I feel like I need a break for a while. These two combined with the thought that exercise is important and I need to do that once in a while resulting in me having an urge to do light exercise.

The thing was, I (still) have not subscribed myself in the Sport Centrum in my campus because I think it is a bad deal if I do it now (I can use it for three months where I have to pay for a six month membership). I will wait for next August when the new semester starts and subscribe by then. Until then, I have to find something alternative for exercising. I don't want to spend too much money on it (stingy :P). And I think of a perfect solution: biking around! It is cheap (as I don't have to pay anything for it) and efficient!

My route was just going around Delft. To avoid boredom, I change the route ever time and sometimes just follow my guts where to go, with no planning at all :P It is kinda fun! It is great that I can do this activity in the Netherlands as I don't see me doing it in Indonesia. First of all, the country here is flat. In term of track, there is literally nothing that will make you feel like not going biking regularly (imagine you live in a mountainous city and you have to go by bike all around. Unless you have a super strong will, your urge will be knocked out after several attempts, at least for me). Second of all, the air here is very clean and refreshing! Imagine you are biking in a bustling street in Jakarta. I guess instead of healthiness, there is a chance you catch a respiratory problem. Third of all, the temperature now is perfect! It is not too cold, but not too hot either. Beside, it is also not as humid as in Indonesia. It is the perfect weather for me! Fourth of all, here we have a special lane for bikers. Plus, the motor-vehicle drivers here obey the rule very much and (almost) none of them drives like crazily. So, I feel safe biking here. Fifth of all, the atmosphere here is just breath-taking. Look at these pictures:

::: Kandelaarbrug, a bridge to the south of Delft.

::: One spot in Delftse Hout.

::: A house and a windmill near the Delftse Hout.

::: A Windmill near Delft.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Aku selalu tahu bahwa olahraga itu sangat penting. Seminggu belakangan ini bisa dikategorikan sebagai minggu dimana aku lumayan sering berolahraga loh dan aku bahagia karenanya! Wow, bagaimana aku bisa melakukan itu semua??

Nah, ceritanya dimulai dari cuaca yang bagus dan sempurna di Belanda selama beberapa minggu belakangan ini. Bahkan minggu lalu, di hari Sabtu suhunya sampai di 22 derajat loh dan aku merasa PANAS!! Nggak bisa dipercaya deh aku ngerasa panas!! Seperti yang pasti pada tahu juga, akhir-akhir ini aku sibuk sekali di kampus dan aku sedikit merasa butuh refreshing sebentar gitu. Kedua ini dikombinasikan dengan pikiran bahwa olahraga itu penting dan perlu deh dilakukan sekali waktu menghasilkan semacam dorongan di dalam diri untuk memulai olahraga ringan.

Masalahnya, aku (masih) belum daftar di Sport Centrum di kampus soalnya aku rasa kalau aku daftar sekarang rugi deh (karena sekarang aku bisa memakainya selama tiga bulan tetapi aku harus bayar iuran keanggotaan selama enam bulan). Aku akan nunggu sampe Agustus nanti aja ah ketika semester baru dimulai dan baru daftar. Sampai saat itu, aku harus menemukan sesuatu yang lain kan. Aku nggak mau juga keluar uang banyak-banyak (pelit mode on :P). Jadilah aku menemukan solusi yang sempurna: sepedaan aja! Aktivitas ini kan murah (karena aku nggak harus bayar apa-apa) dan efisien!

Rutenya ya sekitaran Delft aja. Untuk menghindari kebosanan, aku mengganti rutenya setiap kali dan kadang aku cuma ngikutin insting aja pergi kemana gitu, tanpa perencanaan sama sekali :P Asik juga loh! Bagus nih disini bisa melakukan hal ini karena aku rasa aku nggak bisa deh membayangkan diriku melakukan aktivitas ini di Indonesia. Pertama-tama, disini negaranya itu rata. Jadi dari segi rute, nggak ada deh yang bikin males untuk sepedaan secara teratur (bayangkan hidup di kota yang bergunung-gunung dan untuk berkeliling mesti sepedaan. Kecuali semangatnya luar biasa membara, pasti semangatnya bakal habis deh dalam beberapa usaha, paling tidak buatku). Yang kedua, udara disini sangat bersih dan menyegarkan! Bayangkan bersepeda di Jakarta yang sibuk. Bukannya sehat, bisa-bisa malah dapet masalah pernapasan. Ketiga, suhu udara akhir-akhir ini pas banget! Nggak dingin, dan nggak terlalu panas. Di samping itu, udaranya juga ga selembab Indonesia. Cuaca kaya gini nih yang cocok banget buatku! Keempat, disini sepeda kan ada jalurnya sendiri dan pengendara kendaraan bermotornya juga tertib-tertib dan (hampir) nggak ada yang ugal-ugalan. Makanya merasa aman deh. Kelima, suasananya juga keren banget. Coba deh lihat gambar-gambar di atas!

#890 - April Fool

ENGLISH

No, no, don't worry, I won't tell a lie here. I just put that title as a mark that a new month has come, and it is April. And April is gonnabe relaxing! Well, that is a lie, hahaha. Telling one lie doesn't hurt in April Fool anyway, right? :-)

Well, so, April has come. For TU Delft students, this April marks the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. What does that mean to me? HELL!! Yeah, it means HELL!! I am taking one resit exam this April, not really a biggie. However, the thing is, I will have a super busy fourth quarter, and it will all start this April. Next quarter, I will have three projects to work on, and they are big ones! I have started working on one of them now, to reduce the ammount of work I will have to endure later. Well, this project that I have started is a very interesting project though, about Expert Judgment! Anyway, beside those projects, I think we can expect the usual assignments from the classes and stuffs. Beside, there will also be one oral exam within. Last week, my friends and I looked at the calendar and marked some dates in the fourth quarter about all the deadlines of our projects, assignments, exams, etc. Just looking at that calendar, I am literally shocked as there seem to be no time for "breathing". The schedule is so dense that we always have something to work on week after week, day after day, to make all the things work out. Well, no use in complaining now, the important thing is that I have to keep working hard and be passionate about it, just wish me luck!

Anyway, speaking of something nicer, I think spring has officially come now. Overall, the temperature has been warmer. Btw, I can't believe that now I feel that 14 degree temperature IS warm! In Indonesia, 14 degree is like really cold! Anyway, beside warmer temperature, some of the past several days the sun was also shining nicely. Of course I made us of those rare time as much as I could. I exercised a bit more, not a heavy one, but just biking around the town of Delft. It was fun! Hopefully many of this kind of day will come in the near future!

::: Spring in TU Delft Campus. I love this kind of weather.

::: Apparently, this is a sakura tree (I guess)!!

::: Yes, at one point, somehow I managed to get out of town literally while biking around!

BAHASA INDONESIA

Engga, engga koq, tenang aja, aku tidak akan menulis kebohongan disini. Aku menulis judul di atas (April Mop) ya sebagai penanda bahwa bulan baru telah datang saja, yaitu bulan April. Dan April adalah bulan yang santai! Ya, ini adalah kebohongan, hahaha. Toh bohong sekali di April Mop nggak papa kan ya? :-)

Yah, jadi, bulan April telah datang. Bagi mahasiswa TU Delft, April ini menandai berakhirnya kuarter tiga dan dimulainya kuarter keempat. Apakah artinya buatku? NERAKA!! Ya, artinya NERAKA!! Aku akan mengikuti satu ujian resit April ini, bukan masalah besar sih. Masalahnya adalah, aku akan memiliki kuarter empat yang sangat amat sibuk banget, dan itu semua akan dimulai April ini. Kuarter besok, aku sudah pasti ada tiga proyek yang harus diselesaikan, dan mereka proyek-proyek besar loh! Aku sudah memulai satu proyek sekarang, hitung-hitung nyicil kerjaan gitu biar nanti nggak berat-berat amat. Lagian, satu proyek ini adalah proyek yang asyik koq, tentang Expert Judgment! Ngomong-ngomong, di samping proyek-proyek itu, aku rasa kami juga bisa menjangka akan ada tugas-tugas seperti biasa dari kelas-kelas. Di samping itu, akan ada satu ujian lisan bulan ini juga. Minggu lalu, aku dan teman-temanku menandai beberapa tanggal di kalender dengan deadline proyek-proyek, tugas-tugas, ujian-ujian, dll. Hanya melihat kalender itu, aku udah geleng-geleng aja nih soalnya bisa dibilang nggak ada waktu buat sejenak "bernafas" deh. Jadwalnya padat banget sampai-sampai selalu saja ada yang harus dikerjakan minggu demi minggu, hari demi hari, agar semua bisa terselesaikan. Yah, nggak ada gunanya komplain sekarang, yang penting adalah bekerja keras dan tetap semangat, doakan aku yah!

Ngomong2, ngomongin hal yang agak lebih mengasyikkan, aku rasa musim semi sudah datang nih. Secara keseluruhan, suhu udara sudah lebih hangat sekarang. Btw, aku nggak menyangka lho kalau sekarang aku merasa suhu 14 derajat itu hangat! Di Indonesia, 14 derajat kan udah dingin kan yah. Ngomong2, di samping suhu yang lebih hangat, beberapa hari terakhir ini juga matahari bersinar dengan riangnya. Tentu saja aku memanfaatkan cuaca langka ini sebaik mungkin. Aku berolahraga sedikit, nggak berat-berat sih, cuma sepedaan aja keliling sekitaran kota Delft. Asyik juga loh! Mudah-mudahan hari-hari semacam ini akan datang lagi dalam waktu dekat.

#889 - Jetlag-ish Effect

ENGLISH

Apparently, the DST last Sunday had a jetlag-ish effect.

1. The first apparent one was the sun, of course. Before the DST, the sun set at around 7 PM around this time in the Netherlands. However, due to DST, the sun now sets at around 8 PM. Also as a consequence, the sun also now rises about one hour "late" than before. Well, no biggie though, it is just sun, no??


2. The problem arose in my body and mind clock. Yesterday I cooked my dinner at around the "same" time as before, at around 6.45 PM. However, due to the DST, it was the same as 5.45 PM as before DST. I was still not that hungry at that time and it resulted in me having dinner a bit "late" yesterday. Okay, another small problem.


3. The bigger problem was that yesterday evening at the time I was supposed to get to bed, I did not feel sleepy! The thing was, I would have a morning class in Utrecht on Monday, which meant that I had to get to bed early on Sunday. I wanted to get to bed at 10 PM, but it means that it was equivalent to 9 PM the day before! If my body clock was still set in the winter time, no wonder I did not feel that sleepy at that time. As a result, I got to bed at almost midnight.


4. Of course the effect was prolonged until today. Having to get up at 6.45-ish this morning to catch the 8.45 AM train to Utrecht (via Rotterdam), it was equivalent with getting up at 5.45-ish last week to catch the 7.45 AM train. So early, wasn't it?? That is why today I was a bit asleep the whole day, hahaha...

So, there it is, just a one hour DST had a jetlag-ish effect on me today.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Ternyata, DST hari Minggu kemarin ini ada efek jetlag terhadap diriku loh.

1. Yang pertama adalah matahari, tentu saja. Sebelum DST, matahari terbenam sekitar jam 7an malam di bulan2 sekarang di Belanda. Namun, karena DST, matahari sekarang terbenam sekitar jam 8an malam. Juga sebagai konsekuensinya, mataharinya juga terbit sejam "terlambat" dari sebelumnya. Yah, nggak masalah kan, cuma matahari gitu??


2. Masalah mulai muncul pada jam biologis dan pikiranku. Kemarin aku masak makan malam di sekitar jam yang "sama" seperti sebelumnya, sekitar jam 6.45 malam. Namun, karena DST, itu artinya ekuivalen dengan masak jam 5.45 sore sebelum DST. Aku masih belum lapar jam segitu dan akhirnya kemarin aku makan malamnya agak "terlambat" deh. Oke, cuma gini aja, masalah kecil kan.


3. Masalah yang lebih besar adalah kemarin malam di saat waktunya aku tidur, aku koq nggak ngantuk yah! Masalahnya, aku akan ada kelas pagi di Utrecht di hari Senin ini, yang artinya aku harus tidur agak awal tiap hari Minggu. Aku berencana tidur jam 10 malam, tapi itu artinya ekuivalen dengan tidur jam 9 malam sehari sebelumnya! Jika jam biologisku masih di waktu musim dingin, ya nggak heran aku masih belum merasa ngantuk deh. Sebagai akibatnya, aku baru tidur hampir tengah malam kemarin.


4. Efeknya tentu berkepanjangan hingga hari ini. Harus bangun pagi jam 6.45-an pagi ini untuk naik kereta jam 8.45 pagi tujuan Utrecht (via Rotterdam), itu ekuivalen dengan bangun jam 5.45-an minggu lalu dan naik kereta jam 7.45 pagi. Pagi banget kan!! Makanya deh hari ini seharian aku agak-agak ngantuk gitu, hahaha...

Jadi, itulah dia, penyesuaian DST sebanyak satu jam ternyata bisa mengakibatkan efek seperti jetlag di diriku hari ini.

#888 - One Week and DST

ENGLISH

This past one week has passed really quick! I mean, literally! I feel that I wrote my last entry just one or two days ago, but it has been one week! Wow! Maybe this is due to the fact that I have kinda been busy with all the stuffs from campus. Bah, same old story. I have one assignment due next Monday, and last Wednesday I had a really great trip to Amsterdam. No, no, it was NOT a vacation trip, it was more like a company visit to one financial company in Amsterdam. Somehow I got selected to be part of the visiting students (not all students could participate at this trip) and of course I accepted it. It turned out that it was so much fun! My eyes were opened wider and it really pumped me up to work harder!

Anyway, I can not believe that tonight, the spring Daylight Saving Time (DST) will take place. Well, it is not that I cannot believe we have a DST, but it is just that now we are already at the point of another DST! I remember writing this entry about my first DST and somehow now we are already approaching the next DST! How fast time flew!! Anyway, tonight the DST is not my favorite one as this Sunday we will only have 23 hours a day. The time will get fast forward one hour once it reaches 2 AM.



BAHASA INDONESIA

Seminggu terakhir ini benar-benar cepat berlalu deh! Maksudku, beneran deh! Rasanya aku menulis posting terakhirku ini tuh baru satu atau dua hari yang lalu, tapi ternyata udah seminggu yah! Wow! Ini mungkin dikarenakan aku sibuk minggu ini dengan semua hal dari kampus. Bah, cerita lama. Aku ada satu tugas yang harus dikumpul Senin besok, dan Rabu lalu aku mengikuti acara di Amsterdam. Bukan, bukan, acaranya bukan acara jalan-jalan, tapi lebih ke kunjungan perusahaan ke sebuah perusahaan finansial di Amsterdam. Aku terpilih untuk bisa ikut acara kunjungan perusahaan ini (nggak semua mahasiswa bisa ikut loh) dan tentu saja aku menerima tawaran ini. Ternyata acaranya asik banget! Acaranya benar-benar membuka mataku dan menyemangati aku untuk bekerja lebih keras!

Ngomong2, aku nggak percaya bahwa malam ini,Daylight Saving Time (DST) musim semi akan berlangsung. Yah, bukannya aku nggak percaya bahwa malam ini ada DST, maksudku aku nggak menyangka aja sekarang kita sudah berada di waktu DST lagi! Aku masih ingat menulis posting ini tentang DST pertamaku dan entah bagaimana sekarang kita sudah mendekati DST selanjutnya! Waktu benar-benar cepat berlalu!! Ngomong2, malam ini DSTnya bukanlah favoritku karena hari Minggu ini hanya akan memiliki 23 jam sehari. Waktu akan maju satu jam begitu waktu menyentuh jam 2 subuh.

#887 - Ten Things of the Week

ENGLISH

1. My life lately, well, I think you know how it goes. I have been busy lately with, as usual, all the works from campus that I must do. I barely had enough time to take a deep relaxing breath during the weekdays even though in the weekend I have had time to take some rests that I needed. Thanks God for that.


2. Two weeks ago I went to my friend's birthday celebration here. We all had dinner at a Mexican restaurant downtown in Delft's centrum. Well, I had really wanted to trya Mexican cuisine called "chimichanga", for two reasons: (1) it sounds funny; (2) I watched a movie some years ago where the character had chimichanga and it was depicted that it was super delicious, so I was curious. But then, reading the description (some food with mangos, etc), I decided not to take the "risk" and went with something more "familiar" (carnitas). It turned out that the carnitas was just okay (except for the grilled corn, it was awesome!) and now I feel that I should have taken that risk!


3. Last week there was an international students gathering where the idea was that everyone brought a meal representing their country of origin. Well, I decided to bring Javanese Fried Noodle as I had a pack of noodles that I bought last month which up to that point I had not had the mood to cook noodles for myself yet. So, fried noodle it was (yeah, in a way: gathering = one way to get rid of unneeded supply without just throwing it away to the garbage).


4. These past three weekends, I have had the privilege to (finally) have time for nap. I am so thankful of that. However, it just happened that in those three naps, I always dreamed, and those dreams were not nice ones, hmmm. Does it mean I should never take a nap??


5. After hearing some reviews from friends, I decided to start watching The Big Bang Theory. My friends were right, it was awesome and funny!! I started watching earlier this week and now I am already in the third season. :D I really recommend this show especially if you are pretty much familiar with the world of science :-)


6. Somehow lately I have this urge to start trying wearing contact lenses. I don't know why, the thought just popped in my head :-D. Then, I did some surveys online (mainly about the price), and the prices shocked me to hell!! Contact lenses are damn expensive!! Well, by expensive, I mean, the prices I saw were kinda higher than my expectation. Hmm...


7. Lately, I have been in the mood for experiments in the kitchen. You got a peek of one of the results two weeks ago. After that minced meat steak, my kitchen managed to produce lemonade chicken and soto. Yeah, soto!! Well, sure the soto was still not as delicious as many soto I had back in Indonesia, but considering it was my first attempt plus it was from scratch, I am very pleased!


8. I read on Facebook that today that the moon would appear on a rare size. By "rare size", it meant: bigger size, a.k.a "supermoon". Well, today the weather was great in Delft and some minutes ago I just decided to go outside to see the moon, and walked around for a little bit (That soto made my stomach really full. Thus, taking a walk sound like a good idea). And yeah, the moon was freaking huge!! Kinda cool!!


9. Talking about good weather in Delft, today I went grocery shopping for a while and I noticed something a bit unusual: Delft was more crowded today. By that, I mean the traffic was busier than other normal Saturday! Well, I guess it was because of the sun. The sun shone nicely today and the temperature was not that cold (nor that hot either). My theory was that this rare condition stimulated people to go outside and enjoy the rare good weather that somehow occured on a Saturday!


10. Third quarter's exam week is around the corner now. Well, just like last October, technically I will have no mandatory exam this term (even though last October I had one oral exam though :-P). But I decided two weeks ago that I will take one resit exam, even though I have passed the subject, to get a better grade. Well, so, wish me luck! :-)

::: Spring is around the corner! Spring in Delft

::: Some cookings at international dinner gathering last week.

::: My first ever attempt to cook a bowl of soto.

::: Supermoon

BAHASA INDONESIA

1. Kehidupanku akhir-akhir ini, yah, mungkin pada bisa nebak yah. Aku akhir-akhir ini, seperti biasa, disibukkan dengan kerjaan dari kampus yang harus dikerjakan. Di kala hari-hari kerja, beneran deh akhir-akhir ini susah mencari waktu bahkan untuk istirahat sejenak sambil menghela nafas. Walau di akhir minggu aku masih bisa beristirahat sih. Untunglah.


2. Dua minggu yang lalu aku pergi ke perayaan ulang tahun seorang teman. Kami makan malam di sebuah restoran Meksiko di centrum-nya Delft. Yah, aku sudah sangat pengen mencoba masakan Meksiko yang bernama "chimichanga", karena dua alasan: (1) namanya lucu; (2) aku nonton di film beberapa tahun yang lalu dimana tokoh di film itu makan chimichanga dan kayanya koq enak banget, jadi penasaran deh. Tapi kemudian, membaca deskripsi menunya (makanan dengan mangga, dll) koq malah aku agak goyah dalam mengambil "risiko"-nya yah, dan akhirnya malah memilih menu lain yang deskripsinya lebih "familiar" (carnitas). Eh ternyata, carnitas-nya rasanya biasa saja (kecuali jagung bakarnya sih, enak buangett!!) dan sekarang aku koq malah merasa seharusnya aku mengambil "risiko" itu!


3. Minggu lalu beberapa mahasiswa internasional kumpul2 gitu dan idenya adalah setiap orang membawa makanan yang mewakili negara asal mereka. Nah, aku memutuskan untuk membawa Mie Goreng Jawa buatanku sendiri karena aku memiliki satu pak mi yang kubeli sebulan sebelumnya dan sampai saat itu belum ada mood buat masak mie buat diri sendiri. Jadi, mie goreng lah yang kubawa (yah, di satu sisi: kumpul2 = satu cara menyingkirkan bahan masakan yang nggak dibutuhkan tanpa harus menyia-nyiakannya dengan membuangnya ke tempat sampah).


4. Tiga wiken terakhir ini, aku mendapatkan privilege untuk (akhirnya) tidur siang loh. Aku sangat bersyukur karenanya. Hanya saja, koq di tiga tidur siang itu aku selalu bermimpi yah, dan mimpinya tuh bukan mimpi yang menyenangkan deh, hmmm. Apa artinya aku nggak boleh tidur siang nih??


5. Setelah mendengar beberapa ulasan dari teman-teman, aku akhirnya memutuskan untuk mulai menonton The Big Bang Theory. Teman-temanku benar, acara ini benar-benar keren dan lucu!!! Aku mulai menonton awal minggu ini dan kini aku sudah ada di musim ketiga loh :D Aku menyarankan untuk menonton acara ini deh, apalagi kalau pada kenal dan familiar dengan dunia sains :-)


6. Entah kenapa akhir-akhir ini koq rasanya seperti ada dorongan untuk mencoba memakai lensa kontak yah. Nggak tau deh kenapa, cuma pikiran ini tiba-tiba muncul gitu aja :-D Trus, aku melakukan survey online (terutama tentang harga), dan ternyata harganya mengejutkanku loh!!! Lensa kontak ternyata mahal yah!! Yah, maksudnya mahal adalah, harga yang aku lihat lebih mahal daripada ekspektasi hargaku. Hmm...


7. Akhir-akhir ini, aku koq sedang dalam mood melakukan eksperimen di dapur. Satu hasilnya sudah aku posting dua minggu yang lalu. Setelah steak daging cincang, dapurku kemudian menghasilkan ayam goreng lemon dan soto. Ya, soto!! Yah, memang sotonya masih belum seenak soto yang pernah kumakan di Indonesia lah, cuma mempertimbangkan bahwa soto ini adalah soto pertama yang kubuat sendiri dari nol, aku sangat senang nih!


8. Aku baca di Facebook bahwa hari ini bulan akan muncul dalam ukuran yang langka. Maksud dari "ukuran langka" adalah: ukuran yang lebih besar, atau "supermoon" atau "bulan super". Yah, karena hari ini cuacanya lagi bagus di Delft, aku memutuskan untuk jalan keluar melihat bulannya beberapa menit yang lalu, dan sekalian jalan kaki keliling sebentar deh (Sotonya membuat perutku jadi penuh banget. Makanya ide jalan kaki sebentar sambil menurunkan isi perut terdengar menarik). Dan memang loh, bulannya besar banget!! Keren juga!!


9. Ngomong2 tentang cuaca yang bagus di Delft, hari ini aku pergi belanja bahan masakan dan aku memperhatikan satu hal yang agak tak biasa: Delft lebih ramai hari ini. Maksudku, lalu lintas lebih ramai dari hari-hari Sabtu yang lain! Yah, aku rasa ini karena mataharinya sih. Hari ini matahari bersinar cerah dan temperaturnya juga nggak dingin-dingin amat (walau nggak panas juga). Teoriku adalah, kondisi langka ini merangsang orang untuk pergi keluar dan menikmati cuaca indah yang kebetulan bisa terjadi di hari Sabtu ini!


10. Minggu ujian kuarter ketiga sudah mulai datang. Yah, seperti Oktober lalu, secara teknis sih aku nggak ada ujian wajib di waktu ini (walau Oktober lalu aku ada satu ujian lisan sih :-P). Tapi dua minggu yang lalu aku memutuskan untuk mengambil satu ujian resit, walau aku sudah lulus mata kuliahnya sih, untuk mencoba mendapat nilai yang lebih baik. Yah, doakan aku yah! :-)

#885 - First Week of March

ENGLISH

The first week of March has been okay for me. I got some new informations regarding my study here in TU Delft and I think I have to make some adjustments in my study plan to compensate with that, but overall it is not really a problem. Regarding my study, I got (finally) a good news: I got 9 in one of my class!! I am SO happy because I really worked hard for it! :-) Getting good grade here in TU Delft requires a lot of super f**king hard work! And I also decided to take a resit exam in one of the class that I took last semester, even though I have passed the class :-) Wish me luck!

Anyway, this early March has also been exciting for me as new season of three of my favorite American reality shows were premiered: The Amazing race 18, American Idol 10, and The Apprentice 11. Even though The Apprentice is switching back to my less-favorite version of it: the celebrity one. Along with several other non-reality shows that I am currently following now, well, my tv-shows watching activity is getting busier now. Hopefully I can manage my time really well! Amen for that!

Btw, I don't know why but lately, I am getting hungry easier than usual. Is it because of the season change? Well, I think it is not because of the cold because in the winter, my appetite was just as usual, hmmm. And I noticed this after I came back from Luxembourg. Does it mean that going to Luxembourg for just three days somehow dilated my appetite? Come to think about it, it makes sense though because meals in Luxembourg were HUGE!!!

Have a nice weekend everyone!

::: A surprisingly delicious minced meat steak (or bistik) with barbeque sauce that I made as my dinner yesterday.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Minggu pertama bulan Maret sejauh ini masih baik-baik saja untukku. Aku mendapat beberapa informasi baru mengenai studiku kini di TU Delft dan aku rasa aku perlu melakukan sedikit penyesuaian di rencana belajarku karena informasi baru ini, tapi secara keseluruhan ini bukan masalah besar sih. Tentang studiku, aku (akhirnya) mendapat nilai 9 loh di salah satu kelasku!! Aku SENANG sekali nih, soalnya aku beneran belajar ekstra keras untuk ujiannya! :-) Mendapatkan nilai bagus di TU Delft itu membutuhkan kerja yang sangat amat keras dan ekstra! Dan aku juga memutuskan untuk mengambil satu ujian resit di salah satu mata kuliah, walau sebenarnya aku sudah lulus sih di kelas itu :-) Doakan aku yah!

Ngomong2, awal Maret ini juga mengasyikkan untukku karena musim baru dari tiga reality show favoritku akhirnya dimulai juga: The Amazing race 18, American Idol 10, dan The Apprentice 11. Walau sebenarnya The Apprentice justru balik ke versi yang aku kurang suka sih: versi selebriti. Bersama dengan beberapa acara tv non-reality show yang sedang aku ikuti sekarang, yah, kegiatan nonton tv-ku menjadi semakin sibuk nih. Mudah2an aku bisa mengatur waktu dengan baik! Amin!

Btw, nggak tahu kenapa tetapi akhir-akhir ini, aku koq lebih gampang lapar dari biasanya yah. Apakah ini karena perubahan musim? Yah, aku rasa sih bukan karena dingin soalnya waktu musim dingin kemarin, nafsu makanku juga biasa-biasa saja, hmmm. Dan aku menyadari hal ini setelah kembali dari Luxembourg. Jangan-jangan jalan-jalan ke Luxembourg selama hanya tiga hari tuh membuat nafsu makan lebih besar ya? Kalau dipikir-pikir masuk akal juga sih, soalnya porsi makanan di Luxembourg tuh BESAAR banget!!

Selamat berakhir pekan semua!

#884 - Welcoming Spring

ENGLISH

Spring, or lente or voorjaar in Dutch, is the season that officially started today in Europe. If people ask me if I was excited to welcome spring, well, the answer would be "yes, I am excited to welcome spring". However, the fact lately has been kinda contradictory to the "spring stereotype". These past two weeks, the temperature dropped to somewhere around 4 or 5 degree in average (before that, I think it was already somewhere around 10 degree). It was even snowing last week. Not that bad though, but it was snowing! However, it is true that days are now getting longer as lately the sun sets at around 6.45 PM. But still, even though officially it is spring now, I still kinda feel this is still winter in a way, lol.

Anyway, speaking of welcoming Spring, TU Delft decided to give its students a one week spring break. Awesome!? Of course!! Was it refreshing?? Well, it was supposed to be refreshing. However, people do not call TU Delft for nothing. I still had several assignments and projects to work on. And to finish them on time, I had to use my time during my spring break. Plus, my Dutch class was still held during the break, and there was one extra class for one lecture. So, yeah, even though it was spring break, I did not really have a break, until Friday.

On Friday, my friends and I decided to go on a short trip during the weekend to a neighboring country: Luxembourg. It was an awesome weekend trip. Just at the time I needed, I got a nice short trip. Luxembourg was a really nice country with beautiful scenery (and mountain. Well, the Netherlands is really FLAT so that seeing mountainous landscape is such a refreshing). But it was sooooo tiny. And also, I felt that it was so "quiet". I mean, on Friday evening at around 8 PM, literally noone was there and it was like there was no more life there. The traffic was like traffic in Bandung or Yogyakarta at 1 AM: so empty. But yeah, it was really nice and here are some photos of my short trip there:

::: A view of Luxembourg City

::: A view from Vianden Castle, Vianden

::: Vianden. You can see Vianden Castle on top of the hill.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Musim Semi, atau lente atau voorjaar dalam bahasa Belanda, adalah musim yang secara resmi dimulai sekarang di Eropa. Kalau orang bertanya padaku apakah aku bersemangat menyambut musim ini, yah, jawabannya tentu: "ya, aku bersemangat nih dalam menyambut kedatangan musim semi". Namun, fakta belakangan ini malah agak bertentangan dengan "stereotip musim semi". Dua minggu terakhir ini, temperaturnya turun ke sekitar 4 atau 5 derajat rata-ratanya (padahal sebelumnya sudah sempat naik sampai sekitar 10an derajat tuh). Bahkan, minggu lalu juga sempat bersaljut loh. Nggak parah sih, cuma aja, bersalju! Namun, bener sih kalau sekarang siang hari sudah mulai memanjang karena matahari sekarang terbenamnya sekitar jam 6.45 sore. Tapi masih aja sih, walau secara resmi sekarang ini sudah musim semi, tapi rasanya kaya masih musim dingin deh, lol.

Ngomong2 tentang menyambut musim semi, TU Delft memutuskan untuk memberikan mahasiswa2nya libur awal musim semi selama seminggu loh. Asyik?? Tentu saja!! Apakah liburannya menyegarkan?? Yah, seharusnya sih begitu ya. Cuma saja, orang tidak sekedar memberikan prestise pada TU Delft dong. Aku masih ada beberapa tugas dan proyek yang harus diselesaikan. Dan supaya aku bisa menyelesaikannya tepat waktu, aku harus menggunakan waktuku selama libur musim semi itu. Plus, kelas Bahasa Belandaku juga tetap jalan tuh di minggu itu, dan ada satu kelas tambahan di mata kuliah yang lain. Jadi yah, walau di libur musim semi, aku nggak terlalu menikmati libur yang beneran "libur", sampai hari Jumat.

Di hari Jumat, aku dan teman2ku memutuskan untuk jalan-jalan sebentar ke negara tetangga: Luxembourg. Perjalanan itu adalah perjalanan wiken yang asyik loh. Tepat berlangsung di saat aku membutuhkan liburan. Luxembourg adalah negara yang bagus dengan pemandangan yang indah (dan gunung-gunung. Nah, Belanda kan negara yang RATA tuh, jadi melihat gunung aja sudah serasa kaya cuci mata). Tapi negaranya tuh keciiiiil banget. Dan juga, aku merasa negaranya tuh "sepi" banget. Maksudku, pas hari Jumat malam sekitar jam 8 gitu, seperti nggak ada orang gitu deh disana dan seperti nggak ada kehidupan (lebay nih). Lalu lintasnya juga seperti lalu lintas di Bandung atau Yogyakarta kalau jam 1 subuh: lengang banget. Tapi ya, tetep aja negaranya bagus tuh. Di atas aku unggah beberapa foto dari perjalanan terakhir kemarin.

#880 - So, This Is How Monday Will Look Like

ENGLISH

I did write two weeks ago that two of my courses this quarter are both held on Monday, but they are held in two different cities: Utrecht and Delft. At first, I thought the first Monday I would experience this thing was last week's Monday. But apparently, the morning course at Utrecht did not start last week, but it started this week. I was not complaining last week, as it meant that I had an extra time to relax, lol.

Anyway, so, this Monday came. I was kinda excited, to be honest, as it was literally the first time ever in my life I had a regular class that would be held in different city and I had to come back to Delft in the afternoon!! I would be part of the morning rush (which turned out that it was kinda not fun)!!

So, this morning I got up pretty early (because I also had to cook my breakfast and prepare my lunch as I did not want to be starving during the course). At 8, I met my friends at the station and we left Delft catching train at 8.15 to Rotterdam (we had to transit once at Rotterdam). Being part of the morning rush was very not fun. Just for you to get a seat, you need luck, let alone you want to sit with your group of friends! Beside, my kortingkaart (discount card) is not valid during morning rush before 9 (although it does not really matter as my ticket will be reimbursed by the university).

Anyway, so we finally made it to Utrecht, sitting separately but we all got our own seat (thanks God for that!). From the station, we caught a frikkin' long bus (it looked like three buses joint together) to get to the university. As predicted, we got lost just to find the frikkin' building in which the class would be held. There was no clear sign about the location of the building. Well, I did survey it on Google Map before going, but I forgot to mark which one was north, south, etc, so it did not really help, lol. Twenty minutes getting lost, we finally found the building and subsequently, our class.

Then, I expected the class to be interesting. I read the class' description so I pretty much had an idea (supposedly) about what to expect. However, in the first class this morning, the professor talked about something completely different (from my perspective)! I mean, well, I understand that what he explained today might be, in a way (supposedly), the very very very basic of all things that we might need. I thought it was supposed to be "brief", but I just felt it was not brief at all. Even at one point in the middle of the lecture, he said that he just compressed a 5 classes (which objective was really that field he explained) material into a 90 minutes lecture. Well, for me, it was like a slap in the face! How was I supposed to absorb all those things, plus the fact that we were preparing ourselves for something else! It was like you were ordering pizza for a meal in a restaurant but what you got was a big pile of cheese. Well, hopefully the next lecture will be better though.

Anyway, after that class, we went back to Delft. This time, because it was not the rush hour anymore, it was easier to get seats. Short story even shorter, we arrived at Delft at 2.45 PM. I went back home and prepared myself for my evening class which started at 4.45 PM: Dutch class. And as written here, this class is demanding as we have exams right after EACH class.

So, that was it: my Monday this quarter: getting up early - catching early train to Utrecht - being part of the morning rush - class in Utrecht - rushing back to Delft - preparing for Dutch test - Dutch class - Dutch test. Now, when I still basically have no big assignment due in the near future, Monday already looks demanding. Well, but I know I can beat it!! :-)

::: Long bus in Utrecht. Picture was taken from here. Well, next week (if I do not forget about it) I will try to take a picture of this frikkin' long bus.



note : illustration was taken from here.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Dua minggu yang lalu aku menulis bahwa dua kelasku kuarter ini diadakan di hari Senin, tetapi mereka diadakan di dua kota yang berbeda: Utrecht dan Delft. Awalnya sih, aku kira hari Senin pertamaku dengan jadwal seperti ini adalah Senin minggu lalu. Tapi ternyata, kelas pagi di Utrecht baru dimulainya minggu ini, bukan minggu lalu. Minggu lalu sih aku nggak protes soalnya jadi ada sedikit waktu ekstra untuk santai-santai, lol.

Ngomong2, akhirnya, hari Senin ini tiba juga. Aku lumayan bersemangat dalam menghadapi hari ini, jujur, karena ini adalah hari pertama dalam seumur hidupku aku ada kelas reguler yang akan diadakan di kota lain dan aku harus balik lagi ke kota asalku (Delft) di siang harinya!! Aku juga akan menjadi bagian dari morning rush (jam sibuk di pagi hari) (yang ternyata tidak menyenangkan loh)!!

Jadi, pagi ini aku bangun lumayan pagi (kan aku harus masak sarapan dan menyiapkan bekal makan siang soalnya aku nggak mau dong kelaparan di tengah-tengah kelas). Jam 8, aku bertemu teman2ku di stasiun dan kami meninggalkan Delft naik kereta jam 8.15 pagi tujuan Rotterdam (ya, kami harus transit sekali di Rotterdam). Menjadi bagian morning rush ternyata sangat nggak menyenangkan. Untuk dapet kursi aja membutuhkan keberuntungan loh, apalagi kalau mau duduk bareng sama sekelompok teman! Disamping itu, kortingkaart-ku (kartu korting) nggak berlaku ketika morning rush sebelum pukul 9 (yang ini sebenarnya nggak masalah sih soalnya ongkos transportnya bakal diganti sama universitas).

Ngomong2, akhirnya kami tiba di Utrecht, duduk terpisah di kereta tapi setidaknya semuanya dapat kursi (untung banget deh!). Dari stasiun, kami naik bus yang panjang banget (penampakannya kaya tiga bus digandeng) untuk pergi ke kampusnya. Seperti yang sudah diduga sebelumnya, kami kesasar dalam upaya pencarian gedung tempat kuliah diadakan. Nggak ada petunjuk yang jelas sih. Memang sih sebelumnya aku sudah survey peta di Google Map dulu, tapi aku malah lupa ngecek mana arah utara, selatan, dll, makanya nggak terlalu membantu deh, lol. Dua puluh menit kemudian, akhirnya kami menemukan gedungnya dan tentu saja, kelasnya.

Trus, aku berharap kelasnya menarik. Aku membaca deskripsi kelasnya jadi aku memiliki bayangan lah (seharusnya) akan apa yang bisa diharapkan. Namun, di kelas pertama tadi pagi, profesornya malah membahas hal yang sangat berbeda (dari sudut pandangku)! Maksudku, ngerti sih kalau materinya tadi itu, mungkin di satu sisi, akan menjadi hal yang sangat amat dasar sekali dari apa yang akan kita bahas nantinya. Cuma saja, aku rasa seharusnya cukup "singkat" saja lah, dan aku sih nggak merasa yang tadi itu singkat. Malahan aja di satu waktu profesornya bilang dia baru saja memadatkan materi 5 pertemuan di kelas yang memang membahas materi itu, menjadi penjelasan selama 90 menit. Yah, untuk aku sih, rasanya seakan-akan kaya baru ditonjok, gitu aja! Bagaimana deh kita harus memahami semua materi itu, disamping fakta bahwa bukan materi itu yang kita persiapkan! Bisa diibaratkan kita memesan pizza untuk makan di restoran tapi yang keluar adalah keju sepanci. Yah, mudah2an kuliah selanjutnya akan lebih ok deh.

Kemudian, setelah kelas itu, kami kembali ke Delft. Kali ini, karena bukan jam sibuk, lebih gampang deh dapet kursinya. Memendekkan cerita yang udah pendek, akhirnya kami tiba di Delft jam 2.45 sore. Aku balik ke apartemen dan langsung mempersiapkan diriku untuk kelas sore hari yang mulai jam 4.45 sore: kelas Bahasa Belanda. Dan seperti yang kutulis disini, kelas ini tuh lumayan menuntut karena kami ada tes di akhir SETIAP kelas.

Nah, jadi ini deh: hari Seninku kuarter ini: bangun pagi - naik kereta pagi ke Utrecht - menjadi bagian morning rush - kelas di Utrecht - langsung balik menuju Delft - mempersiapkan tes bahasa Belanda - kelas bahasa Belanda - tes bahasa Belanda. Sekarang dimana aku masih belum ada tugas besar untuk dikumpulkan dalam waktu dekat aja sudah kerasa nih tuntutannya. Yah, tapi aku pasti bisa melalui semua ini! :-)

#878 - February It Is!!

ENGLISH

Well, time really flies, one full month has passed since the year 2011 rang its bell for the first time. Well, I barely felt January though because I had a really hectic month with assignments and exams (you can tell, I am sure). And now, here we are, in the beginning of a whole brand new month: February.

Things have been going pretty okay for my in the new month. One result of my exam was published yesterday, and the result is: *drumroll playing* I PASS it! I am really happy that I PASS the exam and I am really grateful for that! But somehow I am not really satisfied with my grade. I think I could have done better and honestly, I am really considering about taking a resit (reexam) now. I mean, practically, there is nothing to lose for me because I already have that "pass" badge in my bag. If I do worse in the resit exam, I already have the "pass" badge and I am still safe. The only "loss" (if I want to see it that way) is that I will have to invest some time, energy, and effort to restudy all the materials again. So what do you think?

Anyway, finally I have been exam-free and assignment-free for almost one week now. Well, this statement is not really true though. I am taking a Dutch Course for Beginners now and it is kinda really demanding. We have to start working hard from day zero (we even have to pass a preliminary test before qualifying to join the class, and by passing, it is getting 80%). And the hard-working continues from day one (which was last Monday) and on as we have tests every time the class ends and we have to pass them. If we fail them, then we will have to retake them the next class, which also has its own set of tests. So, if we keep failing, the tests will start to pail up. Well, but for now I am kinda enjoying it though. Hopefully I can keep this spirit up the whole course. :-)

Well, to close this entry, apparently today is the Chinese New Year!! Gong Xi Fa Chai everyone!!





note : pictures were taken from here and here.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Wah, waktu berlalu begitu cepat yah, nggak kerasa satu bulan penuh sudah berlalu semenjak bunyi bel tahun 2011 pertama kali dikumandangkan. Yah, aku sih nggak terlalu merasakan sebulan Januari lalu karena aku memiliki bulan yang sangat padat dan sibuk dengan semua tugas dan ujiannya (pasti pada sadar deh ya, aku yakin). Dan sekarang, disinilah kita, di awal bulan yang baru: Februari.

Hal-hal di sekitarku berlangsung dengan baik nih di awal bulan ini. Satu hasil ujian sudah diumumkan kemarin, dan hasilnya adalah: *genderang berdendang* Aku LULUS loh! Aku sangat bahagia aku LULUS ujian itu dan aku sangat bersyukur karenanya! Tapi kenapa ya koq aku nggak terlalu puas sama nilainya. Rasanya aku bisa mendapat nilai yang lebih baik deh dan jujur nih, aku sedang mempertimbangkan ambil ujian ulang sekarang. Maksudku, pada dasarnya, posisiku saat ini nothing to lose kan. Aku kan sudah memiliki tanda "lulus" nih. Jadi, kalau ujian ulangku lebih buruk, kan aku sudah "lulus" dan aman deh. Satu-satunya kerugiannya adalah (kalau mau dilihat sebagai kerugian) aku harus inves waktu, tenaga, dan usaha untuk mempelajari lagi semua materinya. Bagaimana nih pendapat kalian?

Ngomong2, akhirnya seminggu terakhir ini aku nggak ada ujian dan tugas untuk dipikirkan nih. Yah, kalimat sebelumnya itu nggak sepenuhnya benar sih. Kuarter ini aku mengambil kelas bahasa Belanda bagi pemula dan beban dari kelasnya lumayan juga. Kami harus bekerja keras mulai dari hari nol (kami bahkan harus lulus ujian awal dulu hanya supaya bisa ikut kelasnya, dan dengan lulus, maksudnya dapat nilai 80%). Dan kerja kerasnya berlanjut di kelas semenjak hari pertama dan seterusnya karena kami ada tes di setiap akhir kelas dan kami harus lulus tes-tes itu. Andaikata nggak lulus, tes harus diulang di pertemuan selanjutnya yang juga sudah ada agenda tes tersendiri. Dengan kata lain, kalau gagal terus, ya artinya tes-tes itu bakal selalu menumpuk deh. Yah, aku sih sekarang bisa menikmatinya koq. Mudah2an aja aku bisa tetap menjaga semangat ini sepanjang kursus :-)

Yah, untuk menutup posting ini, ternyata hari ini adalah Tahun Baru Ilmek!! Gong Xi Fa Chai semuanya!!

#876 - It is DONE!!!

ENGLISH

So, finally, after working my ass of for the past two weeks, I am free!!! Yesterday I had my last exam this semester and I am really happy about that. Well, hopefully I did good so that I do not need to take the resit though. Certainly I am more sure in one than the other, but overall, I think I did well. Hopefully they are really well. So, finally now I have a literally free weekend with no assignment (nor exam) to think. Well, even though I have decided to take the Dutch Class for Beginners next quarter and I have to study one chapter of the book for that class. But it is a bit nothing (for now) compared to all the crazy assignments I had before (and might have in the near future).

Btw, next quarter, I will be a moving student. On Monday, I am taking two classes that are held in TWO different cities, about 52 km apart. I will have a morning class in Utrecht and an evening class in Delft. Well, I guess I have to really travel back and forth those days, hahaha.

Well, that is pretty much the update of my life lately. Lately, my life is not really interesting, as you know, I just got out of my campus just when I needed to do grocery shopping. The other time, I just stayed in my apartment or in my office to prepare myself for the exam, hahaha

BAHASA INDONESIA

Jadi, akhirnya, setelah bekerja membanting tulang selama dua minggu terakhir, aku bebas juga!!! Kemarin aku mengikuti ujian terakhirku semester ini dan aku sangat senang karenanya. Yah, mudah2an sih aku mengerjakan semua ujianku dengan baik jadi gak harus ngulang sih. Tentu aku lebih yakin di satu ujian dibanding yang lain, tapi secara keseluruhan sih kayanya aku cukup bisa deh. Nah, akhirnya sekarang aku beneran memiliki satu akhir minggu yang bebas nih tanpa tugas (apalagi ujian) untuk dipikirin. Ya, walaupun untuk kuarter depan aku akan mengambil Kelas Bahasa Belanda bagi pemula dimana aku harus mempersiapkan satu bab untuk itu. Tapi itu nggak masalah lah (untuk saat ini) dibanding dengan tugas2 gila yang aku jalani sebelumnya (dan mungkin akan aku jalani lagi bentar lagi).

Btw, kuarter depan aku akan menjadi mahasiswa nglaju nih. Di hari Senin aku mengambil dua kelas yang diselenggarakan di DUA kota yang berbeda yang terpisah sekitar 52 km loh. Kelas pagi di Utrecht dan kelas sore di Delft. Alhasil, sehari itu aku harus bolak-balik deh, hahaha.

Yah, kurang lebih itu aja sih update tentang kehidupanku akhir2 ini. Akhir2 ini memang nggak menarik koq, tau lah, aku cuma keluar kampus ketika harus belanja kebutuhan sehari-hari aja. Selain itu, aku ya cuma di apartement ato kantor buat belajar, hahaha

#875 - One Down, Two to Go! Oops, It's Three!!

ENGLISH

Well, as you may have noticed, I have been muttering about my mega busy weeks. They are filled with big assignments and exams. Well, this week, I had one of the exams. How did I do on my exams? Well, I think I did enough to pass the course (Amen for that!!) but the thing is, I am not really satisfied with my performance on the exam as I think I could have done better. Plus, I was kinda misled and prepared slightly the wrong things for the exams. I did researh the old exams and examined the type of the questions, a bit focusing on the last two years. But then, the exam this year was SO different from the past two years! Well, I guess I was just being unlucky there.

Anyway, so one is down. I still have two more exams which will be held next week, on Wednesday and on Friday. Arrgggh, I cannot wait next week to pass soon!! Btw, did I just say two?? Arrrgghh, I just remembered that I still have one more exam next week on Wednesday, it is the Dutch class pre-exam!! Well, I think I will take the Dutch course next quarter (I am still not sure though whether I will take it now or not). And to take that class, we have to enrol ourselves in the pre-exam first. If we pass the pre-exam, we can take the course. So, apparently, instead of two, I still have three!!

Btw, let's talk about something a bit more fun. As you can read at my last entry, I bought a tennis tournament ticket which will be held in Rotterdam next February. Well, finally, last Thursday, I got the ticket delivered! I am so excited!! :-)

Well, speaking about tennis, now the 2011 Australian Open is underway. Maybe I will write a whole entry dedicated for this next week. But in a nutshell, it is still exciting to watch but in the women's side, it is not really because so many top players are injured.

::: My ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament's Final's ticket.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Yah, seperti yang mungkin sudah disadari, akhir-akhir ini aku ngedumel tentang mingguku yang mega menyibukkan. Minggu-mingguku dipenuhi tugas-tugas dan ujian. Yah, minggu ini, aku menghadapi salah satu ujiannya. Bagaimana kabarnya? Yah, aku rasa jawabanku cukup lah untuk lulus (Amiiiin!!) cuma, aku nggak terlalu puas sama performaku di ujian itu karena aku rasa aku dapat mengerjakannya dengan lebih baik. Plus, aku juga agak salah arah dan mempersiapkan hal yang sedikit salah untuk ujianku. Aku meriset ujian-ujian yang lama dan fokusku lebih pada ujian dua tahun terakhir. Tapi kemudian, ujiannya beda BANGET dari ujian dua tahun terakhir! Yah, aku rasa sih aku lagi sial aja disitu.

Yah, pokoknya satu sudah lewat. Aku masih ada dua ujian lagi yang akan diadakan minggu depan, di hari Rabu dan Jumat. Arrgggh, aku nggak sabar nih agar minggu depan segera beres!! Btw, apakah aku baru saja mengatakan dua?? Arrrgghh, jadi inget deh kalau aku masih ada satu lagi ujian ekstra hari Rabu besok, yaitu pra-ujian kelas bahasa Belanda!! Yah, mungkin aku akan mengambil kelas bahasa Belanda kuarter depan (aku masih nggak yakin sih akan hal ini). Dan untuk mengambil kelas ini, kami harus ikut pra-ujian dulu. Dan kalau lulus, baru deh kami bisa ikut kuliahnya. Yah, ternyata, bukannya dua ujian lagi nih, tapi masih tiga!!

Btw, mari berpindah topik ke sesuatu yang lebih mengasyikkan. Seperti yang bisa dibaca di posting sebelumnya, aku membeli tiket turnamen tenis yang akan diadakan di Rotterdam bulan Februari nanti. Yah, akhirnya, Kamis lalu, tiketnya datang! Aku sangat bersemangat nih!! :-)

Hmm, ngomong-ngomong tentang tenis, kini turnamen Australian Open 2011 sedang berlangsung. Mungkin aku akan menulis satu posting khusus tentang ini minggu depan. Cuma untuk sekarang, secara ringkas, aku merasa turnamen ini masih sangat asyik untuk ditonton walau di bagian putrinya agak kurang seru karena terlalu banyak pemain top yang cedera.

#874 - Typing in the Dark, Exams, and Tennis Tournament

ENGLISH

Setting : In my studio apartment which currently has no power because for some reason and I don't know (yet) how to fix it. I cannot report it to the caretaker now because it is already almost 10 PM and the caretaker is not here by this time of the day.

Laptop's battery : currently 85%

About one hour ago I just came back home from my office. Yes, I got back home at 9 PM ++ today because I had to study for one exam next Wednesday, the first written exam I have during my study in TU Delft. I have reviewed all materials but I know it is better for me to reread all of them tomorrow and on Wednesday morning to give me an even better preparation. Talking about exam's preparation, I just checked today that next Wednesday's exam would be in room with code CT IZ-0.96. I had no idea where the hell that room was, and so I asked my friends on Facebook and saw my campus' scheme. Earlier today, my friends and I tried to find it first, so that if we really had to get lost in finding it, it'd better be now, not on Wednesday, hahaha.

Anyway, so I got back to my apartment like one hour ago. I felt weird because the outdoor lamp of my room was off, usually it is always on. When I entered my room I felt even weirder because it was too dark (I always leave my showerroom's lamp on and open its door a bit so in case I come back home late, it is not going to be totally dark to find the switch of my main lamp). I thought maybe I forgot to turn it on today or I closed my showerroom's door. Then, I tried to turn my lamp on but it did not work. Dammit! I had a feeling about what was going on. The problem was that because this thing has never happened before, I do not know where the electric fuse is. To make things worse, I got back home late tonight, when the caretaker had already got back home. So, I can only report and complain about this problem tomorrow morning. Lucky my internet is still working and I fully charged my laptop last night so it still has some power now, hahaha. And somehow, I decided to type this entry in the dark, I do not know why, hahaha...

Btw, as you might know, I am a fan of tennis. And the good thing about living in Europe is that there are many reachable prestigious tennis tournaments nearby. The most prestigious are, of course, grand slams. And the closest grand slams from Delft are held in Paris (French Open) and London (Wimbledon). However, the ticket price to watch a grand slam is incredibly expensive for me now! (yea, I have done some surveys) I am now not sure whether I want to actually go there this year or not (damn this crazy ticket). But it does not mean I cannot afford watching tennis tournament. There will be a pretty prestigious tennis tournament nearby, just in Rotterdam, next February. Many of the top 10 players will participate there including my favorite male player now: Andy Murray. And yesterday, I just bought the ticket of the final of that tournament!! I was pretty late so I did not get the better seat (down near the court) but I do not care! I am still really excited!! Well, the final would better be between Murray and Djokovic now, hahaha :-)

Laptop's battery : 67%.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Setting : Di apartemen kecilku yang sekarang lagi mati lampu karena satu alasan dan aku nggak tahu bagaimana cara memperbaikinya. Aku nggak bisa melaporkannya ke caretaker sekarang karena sudah jam 10 malam dan caretaker-nya nggak ada di kompleks ini jam segini.

Batere laptop : sekarang 85%

Sekitar sejam yang lalu aku balik ke rumah dari kantor. Ya, aku balik ke rumah jam 9 malam lebih hari ini karena aku harus belajar untuk satu ujian di hari Rabu nanti, ujian tertulis pertamaku di TU Delft. Aku sudah membaca semua materinya dan aku tahu sih akan lebih baik lagi kalau aku membaca ulang semuanya besok dan Rabu pagi untuk memberikan persiapan yang lebih matang. Ngomong2, tentang persiapan ujian, aku tahu bahwa ujian Rabu besok akan diadaka di ruangan dengan kode CT IZ-0.96. Aku tadi nggak tahu ni ruangan ada di sebelah mana, dan kemudian aku tanya teman2ku di Facebook dan melihat denah kampus. Hari ini tadi aku dan beberapa teman berusaha mencarinya dulu, jadi andaikata kami harus kesasar dulu untuk mencari ruangan itu, mending kesasarnya hari ini, bukan hari Rabu nanti, hahaha.

Ngomong2, jadi aku balik ke apartemenku sekitar sejam yang lalu. Aku merasa aneh karena lampu di luar kamarku mati, biasanya selalu nyala. Aku merasa makin aneh lagi ketika aku masuk kamar, kamarnya terlalu gelap (aku biasanya selalu menyalakan lampu kamar mandi dan pintunya aku buka sedikit jadinya andaikata aku pulang kemalaman, paling nggak kamar nggak gelap2 amat lah untuk mencari saklar lampu utama). Aku berpikir mungkin aku lupa nyalain atau aku menutup pintu kamar mandi. Lalu, aku menyalakan lampu kamar tapi lampunya nggak nyala. Sial! Tau deh aku apa yang terjadi. Masalahnya, kejadian ini belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya dan aku nggak tahu dimana sekeringnya berada jadi aku nggak bisa ngecek. Yang lebih parah lagi adalah karena aku pulang malem, caretaker-nya sudah pulang. Jadi aku baru bisa melaporkan dan komplain akan kejadian ini besok pagi. Untungnya koneksi internetku masih jalan dan semalam aku menge-charge penuh laptopku jadi sekarang masih ada tenaga deh, hahaha. Dan entah kenapa, koq aku memutuskan mengetik gelap-gelap gini yah, aku nggak tahu deh mengapa, hahaha...

Btw, seperti yang mungkin pada tau, aku nge-fans sama tenis. Dan hal baik tentang tinggal di Eropa adalah ada beberapa turnamen tenis bergengsi yang jaraknya terjangkau dari sini. Tentu yang paling bergengsi adalah grand slam. Dan grand slam terdekat dari Delft diadakan di Paris (French Open) dan London (Wimbledon). Dan memang keduanya jaraknya terjangkau sih. Masalahnya, harga tiketnya itu lho koq mahal banget yah untukku sekarang! (yea, aku sudah survey harga). Aku jadi nggak yakin apakah aku memang akan beneran mencoba nonton grand slam langsung tahun ini. Tapi bukan berarti aku nggak bisa membeli tiket untuk nonton tenis sih. Bulan Februari nanti akan ada turnamen tenis putra lumayan bergengsi deket dari tempatku berada, di Rotterdam. Banyak pemain 10 besar putra yang akan main disitu, termasuk pemain putra favoritku sekarang: Andy Murray. Dan kemarin, aku baru saja membeli tiket final turnamen itu!! Aku belinya agak terlambat jadi aku nggak mendapat kursi yang bagusan dikit (di bagian bawah stadion di dekat lapangan) tapi nggak papa lah! Aku masih bersemangat nih karenanya! Yah, sekarang sih sebaiknya finalnya antara Murray dan Djokovic aja deh, hahaha :-)

Laptop's battery : 67%.

#873 - I Survived the Week!

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Crazy Week but I Beat It!!

So, technically, this week has come close to an end, and somehow, I managed to survive this week!! Why am I so surprised? Well, as you can read here, I had three assignments due this week. Honestly, about ten days ago, I had no idea how I would survive this week. I knew it would be crazy: three assignments which were not easy at all!! And I am really glad that I somehow managed to survive it! :-)

I think the main contributor of my survival this week was my very-productive Monday where I managed to finish two assignments that day. And this could come to reality because I "sacrificed" my weekend last week, by still keeping working on my assignments. I think it was "fair enough" because I already had like two-weeks off in Italy, so one less weekend should do no harm to me. I then worked on the last assignment the whole week, and it was not easy at all. I got misled one time that made me waste one entire day of my precious time focusing on the wrong thing. It kinda sucked, but I learned my lesson. And today, I finished it. I am feeling a bit relieved. However, I can not really relax now as the exam week is approaching. I am having exam next Wednesday and I have to start preparing for it now!! Wish me luck!!

Spring Vacation??

Anyway, my friends told me this week that there will be a one-week spring-break holiday next February. Of course I am really excited as I can use that time to explore a little bit of more Europe. I have already got two invitations from two groups of friends: going to Paris for four days and going to Luxembourg for three days. The good news is: they are not during the same time, so if I want to go on both trips, technically I can go. The bad news is: I already had a two-week trip to Italy during Christmas and New-Year and in total, it cost pretty much. Well, I would not say I was being extravagant in Italy, in fact, I think my expenses was really well-controlled as I managed to be on budget by a few hundred of euros. But still, two-week holiday in Italy during the high season, even if its expenses was well-controlled, would still cost some money. That is why I am a little bit not sure now. I think I should not go on both offers. I might only be able to pick one. Or in fact, maybe I should not pick either of them, just stay in Holland for that one whole week. So, what do you think? :-)

BAHASA INDONESIA

Minggu Gila tapi Aku Berhasil Melaluinya!!

Secara teknis, minggu ini sudah mendekati akhir, dan entah bagaimana, aku berhasil melalui minggu ini!! Mengapa aku sangat terkejut? Yah, seperti yang bisa dibaca disini, aku ada tiga tugas yang harus dikumpulkan minggu ini. Jujur, sekitar sepuluh hari yang lalu, aku nggak tahu bagaimana aku akan melalui minggu ini. Aku tahu minggu ini akan menjadi minggu yang gila: tiga tugas yang tidak ada yang mudah!! Dan aku sangat lega akhirnya aku berhasil melaluinya! :-)

Aku rasa, kontributor utama dari keberhasilanku melalui minggu ini adalah hari Seninku yang sangat produktif dimana aku berhasil menyelesaikan dua tugas hari itu. Dan ini bisa terjadi karena aku "mengorbankan" wikenku minggu lalu, dengan tetap mengerjakan tugas-tugas. Aku rasa itu masih "imbang" lah karena aku kan sudah menikmati liburan selama dua minggu di Italia, jadi ya satu wiken lebih sedikit nggak masalah lah ya. Aku kemudian mengerjakan satu tugas tersisa lainnya sepanjang minggu, yang juga tidaklah mudah. Aku salah arah di satu waktu yang menyebabkanku membuang waktu sehari dari waktuku yang sangat berharga karena aku fokus di hal yang bukan krusial. Menyebalkan memang, tapi aku belajar darinya. Dan hari ini, akhirnya tugasnya selesai. Aku meraasa lega deh. Namun, aku nggak bisa bersantai-santai karena minggu ujian sudah sangat dekat. Aku akan mengikuti ujian yang pertama di hari Rabu nanti dan aku harus mulai mempersiapkannya dari sekarang!! Doakan aku yah!!

Jalan-Jalan di Musim Semi??

Ngomong-ngomong, beberapa teman memberitahuku minggu ini bahwa akan ada liburan musim semi selama seminggu di bulan Februari nanti. Tentu saja dong aku tertarik karena aku bisa menggunakan waktu itu untuk mengeksplorasi Eropa sedikit lebih banyak. Aku sudah mendapat dua ajakan jalan-jalan dari dua grup teman yang berbeda: jalan selama empat hari ke Paris dan jalan selama tiga hari ke Luxembourg. Berita baiknya adalah: kedua acara ini bukanlah di waktu yang sama, jadi andai aku mau ikutan kedua agenda itu, secara waktu sih aku bisa pergi. Berita buruknya adalah: aku baru saja pergi jalan-jalan selama dua minggu ke Italia ketika libur Natal dan tahun baru, dan secara total, biayanya lumayan juga. Yah, aku nggak mengatakan kalau aku boros yah, malah kebalikannya, aku rasa pengeluaranku di Italia sangat terkontrol dengan baik dan aku berhasil menghemat sekian ratus euro dari ekspektasi pengeluaranku. Tapi ya masih saja kan, liburan dua minggu di Italia di saat musim liburan, walau pengeluarannya sangat terkontrol, tetap saja membutuhkan uang yang lumayan juga. Makanya nih aku sekarang agak nggak terlalu yakin. Aku rasa aku nggak bisa mengikuti kedua agenda itu. Aku mungkin bisa memilih salah satunya. Atau malah, mungkin aku nggak usah memilih keduanya, dan hanya tinggal di Belanda aja selama seminggu itu. Bagaimana nih menurut kalian? :-)

#872 - Crazy Week

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Well, I am really sorry for not being so active in the blogosphere lately, especially after my trip from Italy. This inactivity is due to the crazy ammount of workload from campus. I had three assignments to submit within ten days after I came back from Italy. And the assignments from TU Delft are not well-known for their easiness, in fact it is kinda the opposite :-D

To make things even worse, I wrongly read the deadline for one assignment! I thought for this particular assignment (let's call it RA), the deadline was next Friday. I had another assignment (SP) due this Wednesday and the other one (SC) next Saturday. Based on this fact, I made an agenda to work on SP first, then RA, then SC. But then, last Saturday my friend told me that the deadline for RA was actually THIS Monday!! I checked it and my friend was correct, it was THIS Monday!! I felt doomed!! The good thing was that my friend told me this fact on Saturday, which meant that I still had time to make things up. I immediately changed my plan. I stopped working on SP and started working on RA all weekend. The result was fantastic: I finished RA on time, on Monday afternoon, AND I also finished SP on Monday!! I guess I was on a full gear today, I was so productive!! But there is an effect, after finishing SP, I think I got a headache, hahaha. I need to take a little rest now and start working on SC again tomorrow.

Well, these assignments will not be the end of the crazy workload. I am having an exam starting next week. Well, I "only" have three exams though, one for next week and two for the week after that. But it doesn't mean they are going to be easy. I know I have to work my ass off to get good grades on them. Wish me luck!! :-)

BAHASA INDONESIA

Wah, sorry banget yah kalau aku tidak terlalu aktif di dunia perblogan akhir-akhir ini, terutama setelah pulang dari Italia. Ketidak-aktifan ini dikarenakan banyaknya kerjaan dari kampus. Aku ada tiga tugas yang harus dikumpulkan dalam waktu sepuluh hari semenjak aku pulang dari Italia. Dan tugas-tugas da

Untuk membuat keadaan semakin buruk, aku salah membaca deadline tugas salah satu tugas! Aku kira deadline salah satu tugas (sebut saja tugas RA) adalah hari Jumat esok. Aku ada tugas lain (SP) yang deadline-nya hari Rabu esok dan tugas lain (SC) yang deadline-nya Sabtu esok. Berdasarkan fakta ini, aku menyusun agenda untuk mengerjakan SP dulu, kemudian RA, kemudian SC. Tapi kemudian, hari Sabtu lalu temanku bilang ke aku kalau deadline tugas RA adalah hari Senin INI!! Aku kemudian mengeceknya dan ternyata temanku benar, deadline untuk RA adalah Senin INI!! Aku merasa hancur!! Untungnya, temanku memberi tahu aku di hari Sabtu jadinya aku masih ada waktu untuk mengerjakannya. Aku langsung mengubah rencanaku. Aku berhenti mengerjakan SP dan mulai mengerjakan RA sepanjang akhir minggu. Hasilnya menakjubkan: Aku menyelesaikan RA tepat waktu, hari Senin siang, DAN juga aku menyelesaikan SP di hari Senin ini!! Aku rasa aku sangat bersemangat untuk bekerja keras hari ini, aku sangat produktif!! Tapi ada efeknya, setelah menyelesaikan SP, aku rasa aku sudah memberikan cukup sakit kepala untuk diriku, hahaha. Aku perlu mengambil istirahat sejenak dan mulai bekerja di SC besok.

Yah, tugas-tugas ini bukanlah akhir dari banyaknya kerjaan dari kampus. Minggu ujian akan dimulai minggu depan. Yah, aku "hanya" ada tiga ujian sih, satu untuk minggu depan dan dua untuk minggu setelahnya. Tapi ini bukan berarti minggu depan akan menjadi mudah. Aku tahu aku harus bekerja ekstra keras agar mendapat hasil yang memuaskan. Doakan aku ya!! :-)

#868 - Updates

ENGLISH

A little updates on me. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I am going to Italy!! Yeaah!! But that's not what I want to share right now. I want to update about my life lately.

Well, the winter holiday is coming up, and of course everything is in the holiday mood. One of those holiday-mood occasions is Lichtjesavond (Evening of Light) that took place in Delft last week. In this occasion, Delft's centrum beautified itself with lights and all other Christmasy ornaments. Plus, there were several attractions opened there, like an open stage with orchestra and choir singing Christmas songs, and all other things. The thing is: the Christmas atmosphere was SOOO strong and I had never experienced something like this before!! I really really felt Christmas and how all (most) people around me were celebrating it!! This kind of atmosphere can never be felt in Indonesia, at least based on my 21 years of experience there :-)

Aside from that, my week has been very hectic. I had to finish several assignments, and also I had to deal with several damn problems. For example, last Friday, I lost my room's key. The good news was that it happened on Friday, when the office of my apartment was still open (if it was the weekend, I would have been screwed). So, I had to miss one class, which was one of my favorite, to deal with this problem. Then, just today, I had to move back to my original room because the renovation is complete. While tomorrow I am going to Italy, so I also have to pack my belongings, hahaha.

The thing is, after my two-week break, I will have three assignments to submit!! Crazy!! That is why I am bringing some of my notes on my trip so that I can work a little bit on them if I manage to find some time (for example, during a train ride, etc).

Anyway, winter (year-end) holiday is here now, so Happy Holiday!! :-) See you next year!! ;-)

::: Lichtjesavond in Delft's Nieuwe Kerk

::: A group of singers performing at the Lichtjesavond in Delft.

::: A choir performing during the Lichtjesavond in Delft.

::: An orchestra performing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" during the Lichtjesavond in Delft. How could you not want Christmas after seeing this??

BAHASA INDONESIA

Sedikit update ah. Besok, hari Rabu, aku akan pergi ke Italia!! Yeaah!! Tapi bukan itu yang aku ingin tulis sekarang. Aku ingin menulis sedikit update tentang kehidupanku akhir-akhir ini.

Yah, liburan musim dingin sudah dekat, dan tentu saja semuanya berada di mood liburan. Salah satu dari banyak acara dengan mood liburan itu adalah Lichtjesavond (Malam Lampu) yang berlangsung di Delft minggu lalu. Di acara ini, centrum-nya Delft mempercantik dirinya sendiri dengan lampu dan segala macam ornamen Natal lainnya. Plus, ada beberapa atraksi yang dibuka, misalnya panggung terbuka dengan orkestra dan koor yang menyanyikan lagu-lagu Natal, dan hal-hal lainnya. Yang jelas adalah: suasana Natal terasa SANGATLAH kental disini dan aku blum pernah merasakan yang seperti ini sebelumnya!! Aku benar-benar merasakan Natal dan bagaimana semua (kalo bukan kebanyakan) orang di sekitarku merayakannya!! Atmosfer seperti ini nggak akan pernah bisa dirasakan di Indonesia deh, setidaknya berdasar pengalamanku. Pokoknya beda banget!!

Di sisi lain, minggu2ku akhir2 ini sangatlah menyibukkan. Aku harus menyelesaikan beberapa tugas, dan harus berurusan dengan beberapa masalah sial. Misalnya, Jumat lalu, aku nggak sengaja menghilangkan kunci kamarku. Kabar baiknya adalah hal itu terjadi di hari Jumat, ketika kantor apartemennya masih buka (kalau saja itu di akhir minggu, mati deh). Karenanya, aku harus melewatkan satu kelas, yang merupakan salah satu kelas favoritku, untuk berurusan dengan masalah ini. Trus hari ini, aku harus balik pindah ke apartemenku yang lama karena renovasinya sudah selesai. Padahal juga karena besok ke Italia, aku juga harus mengepak barang nih, hahaha.

Hal lain adalah, setelah libur dua minggu, aku ada tiga tugas yang harus dikumpulkan!! Gila!! Makanya besok aku mau membawa beberapa catatan deh selama liburan jadi aku bisa belajar sedikit lah kalau ada waktu (misalnya, waktu naik kereta, dll).

Yah, pokoknya, liburan musim dingin (akhir tahun) sudah tiba, jadi Selamat Liburan!! :-) Sampai jumpa di tahun depan! ;-)