#728 - 2009 Roland Garros

ENGLISH

Just a couple of hours ago, finally the second grandslam of the year, The French Open a.k.a Roland Garros, just finished.

This year, it has kinda been interesting actually, eventhough some results didn't go the way I wanted them to be. The first interesting thing is that Rafael Nadal had his first lost in the tournament, after 31 winning streaks. Yeah, he had NEVER lost in the Roland Garros before (he even won this grandslam in his first appearance and never lost since then, until last week). However, his streak was broken by 23rd seeded Swede, Robin Soderling, in the fourth round. Soderling eventually made it to the final, the best of his career so far.

Well, the lost of Nadal actually gave Federer a better chance to win Roland Garros for the first time. I'm sure most of us know that Roger Federer is one of the best tennis players in the world lately. He has won all three other grandslams (even more than once each), but he has never conquered the clay court grandslam, Roland Garros. His pursues were stopped by Nadal, the king of clay, several times. Therefore, with Nadal out of competition, on paper, Federer should win this title this year.

Yeah, Federer did it. Eventually he beat Soderling in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4. Eventhough Federer won the title, he will still be world no. 2 for now. However, there's still a pretty good chance for him to reclaim world no.1 title. Anyway, by winning Roland Garros, Federer just became the sixth male tennis player ever to claim all four grandslam singles titles. Congratulations Federer!!

While Soderling, eventhough losing to Federer in the final, will jump to world no. 12, his highest ranking ever, this Monday. Still, for me, he needs to prove himself, especially his consistency, on other tournaments.

In the women singles, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Dinara Safina in straight sets, claiming her second grandslam title after 2004 US Open. This match proves that Dinara Safina still needs to prove herself to be world no. 1 (she is world no. 1 right now but has never won a grandslam singles title). She actually played really well and convincing, especially on the first rounds up to fourth rounds, only losing five games in total. In the QF, she lost 1 set against Victoria Azarenka but still managed to win. In the SF, she beat Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets. However, in the final, she seemed to be really nervous. It was her third grandslam finals, and also her third lost. She lost against Ana Ivanovic in French Open last year and Serena Williams in Australian Open this year, both also in straight sets.

I actually wish the women final would have been between Dinara Safina vs Serena Williams, especially after Serena made this comment. The match would have been interesting (tho I would still be rooting for Serena eventhough based on statistics, Safina had performed better on clay this season, haha). However, Serena lost to eventual winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the QF.

Clay season has ended, grass season is coming, Wimbledon is three weeks ahead. Aha!!

::: Roland Garros.

::: Court Philippe Chatrier (center court) at Roland Garros.

::: Svetlana Kuznetsova and her Suzanne Lenglen trophy, and runner up, Dinara Safina.

::: Roger Federer and his trophy.

::: Roger Federer and Robin Soderling

notes : all players' photos are taken from Roland Garros' official website.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Beberapa jam yang lalu, akhirnya grandslam tahun ini, The French Open atau Perancis Terbuka a.k.a Roland Garros, selesai.

Tahun ini, sebenarnya turnamennya agak menarik, walau beberapa hasil tidak berjalan sesuaiu harapanku. Hal menarik pertama adalah Rafael Nadal mengalami kekalahan pertamanya di turnamen ini, setelah 31 kemenangan beruntun. Ya, dia TIDAK PERNAH kalah di Roland Garros sebelumnya (dia bahkan memenangi grandslam ini di penampilan pertamanya di situ, dan tidak pernah kalah sejak itu, sampai minggu lalu). Namun, kemenangan beruntun itu dihentikan oleh unggulan ke-23, orang Swedia, Robin Soderling, di babak keempat. Soderling akhirnya masuk ke final, hasil terbaik di karirnya sejauh ini.

Kekalahan Nadal ini sebenarnya memberi Federer suatu kesempatan yang lebih baik untuk memenangkan Roland Garros untuk pertama kalinya. Aku yakin kebanyakan dari kita setidaknya pasti pernah dengar kalau Roger Federer adalah salah satu pemain tenis terbaik di dunia akhir-akhir ini. Dia telah memenangkan ketiga grandslam lainnya (bahkan masing-masing lebih dari sekali) tetapi tidak pernah menaklukan grandslam lapangan tanah liat, Roland Garros. Pengejaran akan titelnya beberapa kali dihentikan oleh Nadal, raja lapangan tanah liat. Oleh karenanya, dengan keluarnya Nadal dari kompetisi, Federer seharusnya memenagi titel itu tahun ini.

Benar saja, Federer memenanginya. Akhirnya dia mengalahkan Robin Soderling dengan straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4. Walau Federer memenangkan titel ini, dia akan tetap menjadi petenis nomor 2 dunia saat ini. Namun, masih ada kesempatan bagi dia untuk kembali merebut peringkat nomor 1 dunia koq. Ngomong2, dengan memenangi Roland Garros, Federer menjadi petenis pria keenam yang pernah memenangi semua empat titel grandslam. Selamat Federer!!

Sementara itu, Soderling, walau kalah dari Federer di final, akan meloncat ke posisi nomor 12 dunia, peringkat tertingginya, Senin ini. Tetap saja, untuk aku, dia perlu membuktikan dirinya lagi, terutama konsistensinya, melalui turnamen-turnamen lain.

Di tunggal putri, Svetlana Kuznetsova mengalahkan Dinara Safina melalui straight sets, mengklaim gelar grandslam keduanya, setelah US Open 2004. Pertandingan itu menunjukkan bahwa Dinara Safina masih perlu membuktikan dirinya sebagai petenis nomor 1 dunia (sekarang dia berperingkat 1 dunia tetapi belum pernah memenangi gelar tunggal grandslam). Dia sebenarnya bermain dengan baik dan meyakinkan, terutama dari babak pertama hingga babak keempar, hanya dengan kehilangan lima games total. Di QF ia kehilangan satu set dari Victoria Azarenka tetapi masih bisa memenangi pertandingan. Di SF, ia mengalahkan Dominika Cibulkova dalam straight sets. Namun, di final, ia sepertinya sangat gugup. Itu adalah final grandslam ketiganya, dan kekalahan ketiganya pula. Dia kalah dari Ana Ivanovic di French Open tahun lalu dan Serena Williams di Australian Open tahun ini, keduanya juga dalam straight sets.

Aku sebenarnya berharap final putri adalah antara Dinara Safina vs Serena Williams, terutama setelah Serena membuat komentar ini. Pertandingannya akan menjadi sangat menarik (walau aku masih akan mendukung Serena sih, walau menurut statistik, Safina tampil lebih baik di tanah liat tahun ini, haha). Namun, Serena kalah dari pemenangnya (pada akhirnya), Svetlana Kuznetsova, di QF.

Musim tanah liat sudah selesai, musim rumput akhirnya datang. Wimbledon main tiga minggu lagi. Aha!!

#727 - This Friday

ENGLISH

Actually today I had a plan to go to the gym. It has really been a while since I worked out, damnit!! I think I really need it to be more healthy! However, because of some stuffs, I canceled it today and plan to do it starting Sunday or Monday!! Well, this plan has to be executed!! hahaha

Btw, today I'm not feeling really well. Perhaps I'm catching a flu since now I have the symptoms (coughing). I have done preventive steps tho, so hopefully it's not getting any worse.

Well, nothing much really special happened this day tho. It's just interesting to see Dinara Safina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova in Women's Singles French Open this year. In the men's singles, 23rd seeded Robin Soderling made it to the final! He will face either Roger Federer or Juan Martin del Potro whose match is being played right now.

::: Iga Goreng (Fried Ribs) I had this evening

BAHASA INDONESIA

Sebenarnya hari ini aku ada rencana untuk ke gym. Yah, udah lama banget sejak aku terakhir berolahraga nih, sial!! Aku rasa aku memang membutuhkannya sekarang supaya lebih sehat lagi! Namun, karena satu dua hal, aku membatalkannya hari ini dan berencana baru kesana Minggu atau Senin!! Hmm, rencana ini harus benar2 dieksekusi!! hahaha

Btw, hari ini aku koq gak gitu fit yah. Rasanya udah mulai sedikit flu (batuk2). Aku sudah melakukan tindakan preventif sih, jadi mudah2an tidak menjadi semakin parah dah.

Lainnya tidak ada yang spesial yang terjadi akhir2 ini. Cuma menarik nih melihat Dinara Safina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova di Singles Wanita di French Open tahun ini. Di singles pria, unggulan ke-23 Robin Soderling masuk final loh! Dia akan melawan antara Roger Federer atau Juan Martin del Potro yang pertandingannya sedang dimainkan kini.

#726 - Early Week

ENGLISH

So, last Tuesday I went to Solo. Our trip was pretty much the same with this one. Therefore, because now I'm too lazy to write about it in detail, just open the link, LOL.

Beside my trip to Solo yesterday, there's nothing pretty much interesting happened these days. It's just that this afternoon I bought Singapore - Penang tickets. I bought Tiger Airways for the trip. Yes, so for my trip to Singapore next July, we will also go to Penang for two days, hehe... :)

::: bakso

::: chicken katsudon I had yesterday afternoon at Solo Grand Mall

::: one spot at Solo Square

::: beef monster katsu

::: soto kadipiro I had this afternoon

BAHASA INDONESIA

Jadi, Selasa kemarin aku pergi ke Solo. Perjalanan ke Solo kali ini sih tidak terlalu berbeda dengan perjalanan waktu ini. Makanya, karena sekarang aku sedang malas menulisnya dalam detail, jika tertarik buka link-nya saja deh, LOL.

Di samping perjalananku ke Solo kemarin, tidak ada banyak hal yang menarik yang terjadi belakangan ini. Hanya saja siang tadi aku beli tiket Singapore - Penang. Tadi aku beli dari maskapai Tiger Airways untuk perjalanan itu. Ya, untuk perjalanan ke Singapore Juli nanti aku juga akan berkunjung ke Penang selama dua hari, hehe... :)

#725 - Back to Jogja

ENGLISH

Yeah, last Saturday I went back to Yogyakarta. This time, I drove my car to get back here since it is a pretty long holiday. Actually my plan was to leave Bandung as early as possible, at 9 or 10 AM would be the best. It was because I was looking for daylight so that we would drive mostly during day time. However, because some stuffs, we left Bandung at 12.45 PM.

Nothing much to say about the trip. I just noticed that Indonesia now adopts a new street numbering system from abroad (The USA as I know). Now, we have street numbers (I'm not gonna say highway number since technically, it's not a highway) on main streets connecting main cities. Bandung - Yogyakarta street is now street number 3. I also noticed some other street numbers like street number 8 and street number 10, all connecting Purwokerto with street number 3, haha... .

At 9.45 PM we arrived at my home. So, it was a 9 hours drive, haha... . After that, we ate bakso nearby, which is really tasty :D

Anyway, now I'm really excited. This afternoon, I bought A*rAsia's Yogyakarta - Singapore vv tickets for my family and me, haha. It was an economy promo fare so we only paid Rp 518,000.- per pax, vv. Well, it's not the cheapest fare A*rAsia sells for this route tho since the cheapest would be the one with zero base fare. However, with base fare of Rp 79,000.oo, it's the cheapest now, haha. So, we're going to Singapore this July, it's still a long time in the future tho, which gives us flexibility of our destination. I mean, we are probably not gonna stay in Singapore the whole time, hehe. There's still time to survey reachable areas from Singapore, hehe. Anyway, my last time visit to Singapore was 5.5 years ago, so long!

::: our meal at TaWan last Friday

::: ayam goreng Suniaraja I had Saturday afternoon

::: ayam goreng Mergosari I had Saturday afternoon, at 4 PM, after Banjar

::: bakso nearby

::: soto kridosono I had Sunday morning

BAHASA INDONESIA

Yeah, Sabtu kemarin aku balik ke Yogyakarta. Kali ini, aku nyetir mobil untuk balik karena liburan kali ini adalah liburan yang lumayan lama. Sebenarnya rencanaku adalah untuk meninggalkan Bandung sepagi mungkin, dengan paling baik ya jam 9 atau jam 10 pagi. Ini karena aku mencari waktu siang selama mungkin jadi nyetirnya tuh pas belum gelap. Namun, karena beberapa hal, kita baru meninggalkan Bandung jam 12.45 siang.

Nggak ada banyak hal yang dapat ditulis tentang perjalanan. Aku cuma menyadari bahwa Indonesia kini mengadopsi sistem penomoran jalan dari luar negri (setauku sih dari Amerika). Sekarang, kita memiliki sistem penomoran (aku nggak akan nulis penomoran jalan tol karena memang bukan jalan tol) di jalan utama yang menghubungkan kota-kota utama. Misalnya, sekarang jalan utama Yogyakarta - Bandung adalah jalan nomor 3. Aku juga menyadari ada nomer jalan seperti jalan nomor 8 dan 10, keduanya menghubungkan Purwokerto dengan jalan nomor 3, haha... .

Jam 9.45 malam kita tiba di rumah. Jadi, kemarin adalah perjalanan selama 9 jam, haha... . Habis itu, kita makan bakso deket rumah, enak lho :D

Ngomong2, sekarang seneng banget nih. Siang tadu, aku beli tiket A*rAsia Yogyakarta - Singapore pp untuk aku sekeluarga, haha. Harganya yang ekonomi promo jadi seorang cuma bayar Rp 518.000,- pp. Bukan yang paling murah karena A*rAsia menjual paling murah tuh dengan harga dasar nol rupiah, nah yang ini dengan harga dasar Rp 79.000,oo. Cuma dengan harga dasar segitu, yang sekarang ini memang yang paling murah yang tersedia, haha. Jadi, kami akan ke Singapore Juli nanti, masih lama sih, yang memberikan kami fleksibilitas. Yang aku maksud dengan fleksibilitas adalah mungkin kita gak akan cuma di Singapore aja, hehe. Masih ada waktu survey untuk cari area-area yang bisa dijangkau. Ngomong2, terakhir kali aku ke Singapore adalah 5,5 tahun yang lalu! Lama yah...

#724 - This Saturday

ENGLISH

Well, today I'm going back to Yogyakarta. As you can read at my previous entry, this time I will be driving back home.

Of course for this trip I had to prepare my car well. Therefore yesterday I brought it to the autoshop. This idea was also ignited because two days ago, it was so hot in my car. Yea, it was around 11 AM where the sun was blazing. It might be the green house effect. However, for safety, I had an idea to bring my car to the autoshop. Nothing to loose since at least I could have it checked and prepared for my trip today. At 5 PM, the service was done, it literally took the whole day!

Well, actually I forgot to write in the previous entry a quick review about a movie I watched two days ago which was Terminator: Salvation. I will write about it later tho since now I don't have that much time, haha

BAHASA INDONESIA

Yah, hari ini aku akhirnya akan pulang ke Yogyakarta juga. Seperti yang bisa dibaca pada posting sebelumnya, kali ini aku akan nyetir nih pulangnya.

Tentu saja untuk perjalanan ini aku harus menyiapkan mobil dengan baik. Makanya kemarin aku membawanya ke bengkel. Ide ini bisa muncul karena dua hari yang lalu panas buangett tuh mobilku. Ya, memang sih waktu itu jam 11 dan matahari bener2 panas banget. Mungkin saja kan panasnya disebabkan oleh efek rumah kaca. Namun, untuk keamanan, sudah deh dicekin sekalian saja toh tidak ada ruginya. Jam 5 sore kemarin, akhirnya beres juga servis-nya, yang benar-benar mengambil waktu seharian!

Hmm, sebenernya aku lupa untuk menulis review cepat di posting kemarin tentang film yang aku tonton dua hari yang lalu yaitu Terminator : Salvation. Yah, nanti saja ah nulisnya soalnya sekarang juga sedang buru-buru nih, haha

#723 - Official Freedom

ENGLISH

Yeah, now I'm officially in my longest holiday of the year, the mid-year holiday which will stretch as long as 2.5 months, LOL. This is because yesterday I took my last exam, Real Analysis, haha... . Well, this holiday is so long simply because I don't take the Short Semester during that time. Probably this holiday is gonnabe similar with two years ago where I literally spent most of my time in holiday mode. Last year, when I had this 'holiday', it wasn't really a holiday since I had to go back and forth between Yogyakarta and Bandung to deal with many stuffs relating with student comitee. But since now I'm already 'retired' from it (LOL), this year I don't have to deal with them anymore.

Now I'm still in Bandung. Why do I stay in Bandung and not get back home to Yogyakarta? This is because last Tuesday my brother and his friends came to Bandung to have a vacation here. My brother, one of his friend, and I are planning to get back to Yogyakarta next Saturday. We are driving back home this Saturday, hmmm. It might be gonnabe a long trip, haha.

O yea, about my sickness. Thanks God now I am already fit 100%! I bought gel for my shoulder cram and it worked! Just after two or three hours after I used it, the pain was gone! haha...

Anyway, finally after craving it for years, last night I had dinner at Duck King and ate Peking Duck!! huahahaha... . Yea, it was tasty but I also loved the roasted duck.

::: bakso (literally) I had yesterday afternoon

::: roasted duck, baby kaylan, and duck I had at Duck King.

::: two rolls of Peking Duck.

::: Hainam Rice I had this morning.

::: decafed cappucinno latte.

::: Black Angus Sirloin steak I had at The Peak this evening.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Yeah, sekarang aku benar2 secara resmi berada pada liburan terpanjang dalam setahun, yaitu liburan selama 2,5 bulan, LOL. Yah, ini karena aku udah ujian akhir yang terakhir kemarin, Analisis Real, haha... . Hmm, liburan ini panjang sekali karena aku tidak mengambil Semester Pendek selama waktu itu. Mungkin liburan yang kali ini akan mirip dengan dua tahun lalu dimana aku benar-benar menghabiskan sebagian besar waktu dalam mode liburan. Tidak seperti tahun lalu dimana aku harus bolak-balik Bandung - Yogyakarta untuk mengurus banyak urusan yang berkaitan dengan himpunan mahasiswa. Karena kini aku sudah pensiun (LOL) darinya, aku jadi tidak perlu berurusan dengan itu lagi.

Sekarang aku sih masih di Bandung. Mengapa aku masih berada di Bandung dan nggak pulang ke Yogyakarta? Ya karena Selasa lalu adikku dan teman2nya datang ke Bandung untuk liburan disini. Rencananya, adikku, seorang temannya, dan aku akan balik ke Yogyakarta Sabtu besok. Nah, kita akan nyetir tuh nanti, hmmm. Mungkin akan menjadi perjalanan panjang, haha.

O iya, tentang sakitnya saya. Terima Kasih Tuhan sekarang sudah fit 100%! Aku juga beli balsem untuk nyeri otot bahu dan bener2 bekerja tuh! Setelah sekitar dua atau tiga jam lah setelah mengoleskan balsemnya, benar2 sembuh lho! haha...

Ngomong2, setelah ingin sekali selama bertahun-tahun, akhirnya semalam aku makan di Duck King dan makan Bebek Peking!! huahahahaha... . Yap, memang enak sekali sih dan aku juga sama sukanya sama bebek panggangnya.

#722 - Monday the 25th

ENGLISH

So, yesterday I went to a theme park, Dunia Fantasi (Dufan), in Jakarta. We departed at 6.30 AM from Bandung and arrived at Ancol at about 10.10 AM. There, we had lunch at Simpang Raya first and after that we went to Dufan.

Dufan opened at 11 AM and it was way more crowded than we expected. It was Monday so we thought it wouldn't be that crowded but it was! Anyway, in there we of course played some games. We first rode a small roller coaster first as a warming up. It was kinda unfair because the turn before us got four laps while we only got three laps!! hahaha.... . Then, my friends wanted to ride Tornado. I didn't want to play that one since it was super extreme for me.

Then we played log flume, which was really fun. Right after that we played arung jeram (river raft) which made us really wet. After playing arung jeram twice, we gotta changed our clothes. After that we headed to Extreme Log and queued. The line was insane, so many people were queuing. Somehow, when we were waiting, probably because of the crowdedness and the heat of Jakarta's atmosphere, I felt so dizzy and I felt that myself was nearly passed out. So, I gave up my position, left the line, took a rest, bought a cup noodle and ate it. After that, I was in a better condition but still not 100% fit.

Time flew by as we rode more attractions. When we rode bianglala (ferris wheel) at 5.30 PM (I think it was the best time because it wasn't hot anymore), my friend was freaked out because of the height but I found it really funny, haha. Then we rode carousel as our last ride.

At 6.30 PM we left Ancol and went back to Bandung. We took a rest at one rest area on the highway and had dinner there. Then we arrived at Bandung at 11 PM.

Well, apparently my dizziness was a lot more serious. I had a diarrhea all night long. Of course I couldn't sleep well since every one hour I gotta get up, go to the toilet, and finished the 'business' there. Imagine it! I was so exhausted but yet I had to do that EVERY HOUR on my precious sleeping time! Damnit. This morning when I got up, I felt that I had cram on my shoulders. Now it's still aching! *Sigh* This made me think that probably I was also food poisoned! Damn!

Because of that, I canceled my plan this afternoon with my friends and took a rest instead. This evening my brother came to Bandung. Tomorrow I have exam at 10 AM. Sigh, whatta busy week T-T.

::: Marina Bay

::: a stage in Dufan

::: log flume

::: my stamped hand

::: a crazy line which made me dizzy

::: one spot at Dufan, a photo I took during resting

::: Puppet Castle (Istana Boneka)

::: inside Puppet Castle

::: afternoon Jakarta, taken from bianglala (ferris wheel)

::: my dinner, fuyunghai

BAHASA INDONESIA

Jadi, kemarin aku pergi ke taman rekreasi, Dunia Fantasi (Dufan), di Jakarta. Kami berangkat jam 6.30 pagi dari Bandung dan tiba di Ancol sekitar pukul 10.10 pagi. Disana, kami makan siang dulu di Simpang Raya baru kemudian pergi ke Dufan.

Dufan buka jam 11 pagi dan bener2 rame banget dah, jauh lebih rame dari perkiraan kami. Kemarin kan hari Senin dan kami kira nggak akan terlalu rame deh, tapi kenyataan tidak demikian! Ngomong2, disana tentu saja kami naik permainan2nya dong. Pertama2 kami main roller coaster yang kecil dulu untuk pemanasan. Agak nggak adil juga soalnya giliran sebelum kami mendapat empat putaran sementara giliran kami, kami hanya mendapat tiga putaran!! hahaha.... . Trus, temen2ku ada yang mau naik Tornado. Aku sih nggak naik soalnya itu agak terlalu ekstrim sih buat aku.

Trus, kami main log flume, yang emang menyenangkan. Habis itu main arung jeram yang bener2 bikin basah. Habis main arung jeram dua kali, kami harus ganti baju deh. Setelahnya kami menuju ke Extreme Log dan mengantri. Antriannya gila banget deh, buanyakk banget yang ngantri. Tiba2, ketika sedang mengantri, mungkin karena kesumpekan dan panasnya udara Jakarta, aku merasa pusing banget dan merasa kaya mau pingsan gitu. Makanya deh aku keluar saha dari antrian, istirahat, beli mie instan dan memakannya. Setelahnya jadi agak mendingan sih tapi tetap nggak fit 100%.

Waktu berlalu ketika kami naik permainan2 lain selanjutnya. Ketika kami naik bianglala jam 5.30 sore (yang aku rasa adalah waktu yang tepat karena udah nggak panas kan), temenku ketakutan karena ketinggian dan justru reaksinya itu lucu banget, haha. Trus kami naik carousel sebagai permainan terakhir kemarim.

Jam 6.30 sore kami meninggalkan Ancol dan balik ke Bandung. Kami istirahat di sebuah rest area di pinggir jalan tol dan makan malam disana. Trus kami tiba di Bandung sekktar jam 11 malam.

Hmm, ternyata pusingnya aku tuh lebih serius permasalahannya. Aku diare semalaman. Karenanya, aku jadi nggak bisa tidur nyenyak karena setiap satu jam aku harus bangun, pergi ke toilet, dan menyelesaikan "urusan" disana. Bayangkan! Aku lelah banget dan aku tidak bisa menikmati waktu tidurku yang berharga karenanya! Sialan! Malah pagi ini ketika aku bangun, malah aku merasa nyeri otot di bahu. Sampe sekarang masih agak sakit neh! *hhh*. Ini membuatku menduga mungkin aku juga keracunan makanan! Sial!

Karenanya, aku membatalkan rencana siang tadi dengan temen2ku dan mendingan beristirahat. Sore ini adikku datang ke Bandung. Besok aku akan ada sebuah ujian. Yah, benar2 minggu yang sibuk T-T.