Well, now we are in the end of this second month of 2009. Today is actually an off day for normal college students in Unpar since today is the graduation day. However, I still had to go to my campus to have a discussion with my lecturer about my thesis, hmmm... . Of course I also came to the graduation lunch since some friends graduated today, hehehe... . Looking at them, hmm, next year I will be on their positions. So exciting, but before that, I have a lot to go thru with hardwork.
Anyway, about the second week of American Idol, apparently my guess here was 100% correct. Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, and Adam Lambert made it to the top 12!! hahaha... . For the wildcard for this group, I hope Jasmine Murray and Megan Corkrey will get the second chance, hmmm
::: Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Danny Gokey, three contestants from group 1 who made it to the top 12 last week.
::: Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, and Adam Lambert, three contestants from group 2 who made it to the top 12 this week.
Hmm, sekarang kita sudah berada di penghujung bulan kedua dari tahun 2009. Hari ini sih sebenarnya adalah hari libur loh untuk mahasiswa umum Unpar soalnya kan sekarang tuh hari wisudaan. Namun, aku tetap harus ke kampus tadi untuk bimbingan tugas akhir sama dosen pembimbingku, hmmm... . Tentu saja sih sekalian ke acara makan siang wisudaannya soalnya beberapa teman kan wisuda hari ini, hehehe... . Melihat mereka, hmm, tahun depan aku akan berada di posisi mereka neh. Kayanya akan asik banget, tapi untuk sampai kesana aku harus melewati banyak hal dengan kerja keras dulu neh.
Ngomong2, tentang minggu kedua dari American Idol, ternyata tebakanku disini 100% benar loh. Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, dan Adam Lambert masuk ke 12 besar!! hahaha... . Untuk wildcard dari grup ini, mudah2an Jasmine Murray dan Megan Corkrey mendapat kesempatan kedua deh, hmmm
Okay, I just watched the second week of this season's American Idol's semifinal. Here is what I think: I think, my picks for the top twelve this week are: Adam Lambert (he sang The Rolling Stone's 'Satisfaction'), Allison Iraheta (she sang Heart's 'Alone'), and Kris Allen (he sang Michael Jackson's 'Man in the Mirror').Hopefully all of them get thru.
Megan Corkrey is also pretty good, but for me she wasn't in the top three. However, there's still a chance for her thru the Wildcard tho. Jasmine Murray was so disappointing. She is so promising and good actually (based on her Hollywood Week Round), but she didn't deliver this week, hmmm.... .
Anyhow, the most entertaining performance was definitely Nick Mithcell's (Norman Gentle) performance when he sang 'And I'm Telling You I'm not Going'. It was so entertaining (and different) that I couldn't help not to smile during his performance. The thing is that he can sing actually, not just another crazy-tuneless singer. However, I can see the judges' problem with him. He's a stage performer and not really a recording artist. He's good on stage, but on recording, I dun think he will do well. Hmmm... .
::: Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell's 'And I'm Telling You I'm not Going'
BAHASA INDONESIA
Ya, aku baru saha menonton minggu kedua dari semifinal American Idol musim ini. Ini pendapatku: Menurutku neh, pilihanku untuk tiga peserta yang lolos ke 12 besar adalah: Adam Lambert (dia nyanyi 'Satisfaction'-nya The Rollingstones), Allison Iraheta (dia nyanyi 'Alone'-nya Heart), dan Kris Allen (dia nyanyi 'Man in the Mirror'-nya Michael Jackson). Mudah2an mereka semua lolos.
Megan Corkrey juga lumayan seh sebenernya, tapi dia gak di tiga besarku. Namun, masih ada kesempatan sih untuk dia di wildcard. Jasmine Murray mengecewakan banget minggu ini. Dia kan sebenernya bagus tuh (berdasarkan Babak Minggu Hollywood), tapi dia nggak bagus dah minggu ini, hmmm.... .
Bagaimanapun juga, penampilan paling menghibur adalah penampilannya Nick Mithcell (Norman Gentle) tuh ketika dia nyanyi 'And I'm Telling You I'm not Going'. Benar2 menghibur (dan berbeda) sampe aku gak bisa gak tersenyum sepanjang penampilannya. Poinnya adalah dia tuh bisa nyanyi loh, gak sekedar peserta gila-tapi-gak-bisa-nyanyi. Namun, aku ngerti sih masalah yang dilihat jurinya akan dia. Dia itu stage performer dan bukan artis rekaman. Dia bagus di panggung, tapi kalau di bidang rekaman, rasanya sih kurang pas. Hmmm... .
Yesterday my friends and I decided to use the karaoke voucher I got this time. We rent the large room (the theme was Egyptian), of course for free, wkwkwkw. Then, we used McD coupon to have dinner there. Each person got a Rp 10,000.oo voucher. Well, not that much for McD's "level", but not that bad, haha.
Today is one of my favorite day of the whole week, Tuesday. My class was only at 1 PM. Cool!! haha... . Anyway, today of course I also gotta prepare for my fourth presentation on Seminar tomorrow. Well, apparently if I gave myself more time to prepare for it, it will work better for me (isn't that obvious?). Well, I must certainly do that since every week, the material I gotta prepare is getting tougher and tougher, hmmm
BAHASA INDONESIA
Kemarin aku dan teman2 memutuskan untuk menggunakan voucher karaoke yang aku dapat waktu ini. Kita menyewa ruangan yang besar (yang temanya Mesir), tentu saja dengan gratis, wkwkwkw. Trus kita menggunakan kupon McD untuk makan disana. Tiap orang mendapatkan sebuah voucher senilai Rp 10.000,oo. Yah, nilainya sih tidak seberapa lah untuk ukuran McD gitu, tapi ya lumayan lah, haha.
Hari ini adalah salah satu hari favoritku dalam seminggu, Selasa. Kelasku dimulai jam 1 siang saja. Asik!! haha... . Ngomong2, tentu saja hari ini aku harus mempersiapkan bahan untuk presentasi semianr besok. Nah, ternyata kini aku benar2 merasakan bahwa kalau aku memberikan lebih banyak waktu untuk mempersiapkannya, itu akan berimbas lebih baik untuk aku (bah, jelas banget ya rasanya?). Yah, aku bener2 harus melakukan itu nih soalnya setiap minggu, materinya semakin berat dan berat neh, hmmm
Actually the Sunday itself wasn't weird at all. In fact, this Sunday was just like another typical Sunday in Bandung. On Saturday night, I stayed up late (until Sunday dawn, haha) and I got up late today, haha...
Well, so then what's weird? Actually, I only had meal once today, this afternoon at about 1 PM. The weird thing is that until this evening, I still am not hungry, wkwkwkw... . That's probably because I didn't do those many things this Sunday, wakakaka
OMG, WTH did I just write?? wkwkwkwkw
::: my meal at Hokben some days ago
::: my own creation sandwich, with scrambled egg and fried ma ling
BAHASA INDONESIA
Sebernya Minggunya sendiri kaga aneh sama sekali sih. Malahan, Minggu kali ini sangat tipikal kaya hari-hari Mingguku di Bandung. Sabtu malam, tentu aja begadang (sampe Minggu dini hari, haha) dan bisa bangun siang neh, haha...
Nah, kalo gitu trus apa dong yang aneh? Sebenernya sih tadi cuma makan sekali doang, di siang hari sekitar jam 1 siang. Hal yang aneh adalah koq sampe semalam ini kaga laper yah, wkwkwkw... . Yah, mungkin karena aktivitasku tadi nggak banyak2 amat seh Minggu ini, wakakaka
Bah, barusan nulis apa seh?? Kaga penting sama sekali, wkwkwkwkw
Well, this semester Saturday is definitely the busiest day of the week on campus. Lucky for tomorrow, it's gonnabe a bit lighter. Two (out of four) classes are canceled, and both are the first two morning classes!! Wahahahaha.... .
Anyway, yesterday the result of the first group of this season American Idol was out. My guess was 67% correct, Danny Gokey and Michael Sarver made it to the top 12. However, Tatiana del Toro didn't but Alexis Grace made it. Okay, after watching the show back, they all deserve it eventho Michael was just okay this week. He's so lucky. I really hope Tatiana and Anoop will get a second chance in the wildcard, haha... . Tatiana is gonna make the top 12 exciting to watch.
About Danny Gokey, I dunno why but he started to be a bit annoying. He was a bit cocky on the Result Show (or that was the impression I got). Then, he (or his relatives, I dun care) exploit the death of his wife too much I think. At first, okay, it might gain sympathy but if you keep bringing it on every week, it's getting annoying (example: one relative of him kept showing the picture of him and his deceased wife when Danny was announced to be one of the top 12 contestants). It's a singing competition, so please just focus on the performance, not the other thing, hmmm... .
BAHASA INDONESIA
Hmm, semester ini hari Sabtuku jelas hari tersibuk deh di kampus. Untungnya untuk besok, agak lebih ringan neh. Dua (dari empat) kelas ditiadakan, dan keduanya adalah dua kelas pagi!! Wahahahaha.... .
Ngomong2, kemarin hasil dari grup pertama dari musim kali ini dari American Idol keluar neh. Tebakanku 67% benar, Danny Gokey dan Michael Sarver masuk ke 12 besar. Namun, Tatiana del Toro enggak dan Alexis Grace masuk. Oke, habis nonton show-nya lagi, mereka memang berhak masuk koq walau Michael biasa saja minggu ini. Beruntung tuh dia. Aku harap Tatiana dan Anoop akan dapat kesempatan kedua di wildcard deh, haha... . Tatiana menurutku bakal bikin rame top 12 neh.
Tentang Danny Gokey, gatau kenapa tapi koq dia mulai agak menyebalkan ya. Dia agak sombong di Result Show (setidaknya itu kesan yang aku dapat). Trus, dia (atau kerabatnya, siapa pun la, gak ngurus) terlalu mengeksploitasi kematian istrinya terlalu banyak tuh menurutku. Pertama2 sih oke deh, untuk menarik simpati. Tapi kan kalau dilakukan terus2an setiap kali kan jadi menyebalkan juga (misalnya: kemarin salah satu kerabatnya terus2an nunjukin fotonya dia sama almarhumah istrinya sewaktu Danny dinyatakan lolos ke 12 besar). Ini kan kompetisi nyanyi, tolong deh fokus aja ke penampilannya, jangan malah gitu, hmmm....
So, I haven't updated anything for a while. My week so far has been ordinary, just those other days, busy days on campus, et cetera. Last week I went karaokeing, etc, haha...
Anyway, today I had my third seminar presentation and I think it went pretty well. In the afternoon my friends and I went to BSM to play bowling. Well, it was my second time playing bowling in Bandung, the first one was on August 2006 (I already searched for it and apparently at that time I didn't write it here, haha).
Then, this evening I watched the first group performance of this season's American Idol. I think, the best of the male contestants was Danny Gokey, no question. He sang "Hero" greatly, eventho I agree with Simon that it's still not fantastic yet. However I think that performance showed that he is promising. Michael Sarver did good but I kinda expect more from him. About the girls, I think the best were Tatiana del Toro and Ann Marie Boskovich. I dunno why the judges criticized Ann Marie since I think she wasn't that bad. Alexis Grace was interesting but I still prefer the former two, hmmm... .
So, my pick for this week for the top 12: Danny Gokey (male), Tatiana del Toro (female), and Michael Sarver (next top vote getter).
::: Chicken Sate I had last week
::: Suniaraja Fried Chicken I had last week
::: pizza, beef bruscheta, and chicken oriental spaghetti I bought last Sunday
::: one spot at the bowling alley
::: so many chicken, haha
BAHASA INDONESIA
Yah, uda lama juga ya kaga update. Mingguku biasa saja seh sejauh ini, cuma hari2 biasa lainnya, sibuk di kampus, dll. Minggu lalu sekalian karaokean, dll, haha...
Ngomong2, hari ini aku menjalani presentasi ketiga seminarku dan rasanya baik2 saja sih. Siangnya aku dan teman2 ke BSM sekalian main bowling. Anyway, ini adalah kedua kalinya loh main bowling di Bandung, yang pertama adalah bulan Agustus 2006 lalu (hmm, aku udah ngoprek nih blog dan ternyata waktu itu aku kaga tulis ceritanya disini, haha).
Trus, malam ini aku nonton penampilan grup pertama dari American Idol musim ini. Aku rasa, tang terbaik dari kontestan laki2 adalah Danny Gokey, tanpa ragu deh. Dia nyanyi "Hero" dengan bagus, walau aku setuju dengan Simon kalo itu masih belum fantastis. Namun, aku rasa penampilan itu menunjukkan kalau dia itu menjanjikan. Michael Sarver bagus sih, cuma rasanya dia bisa jauh lebih bagus deh. Tentang perempuannya, aku rasa yang terbaik adalah Tatiana del Toro dan Ann Marie Boskovich. Aku heran koq jurinya bilang Ann Marie jelek yah, padahal rasanya gak jelek gitu ah. Alexis Grace menarik sih tapi koq aku lebih suka dua yang pertama yah, hmmm...
Jadi, pilihanku untuk minggu ini untuk 12 besar adalah: Danny Gokey (laki2), Tatiana del Toro (perempuan), Michael Sarver (voting tertinggi selanjutnya)
Well, today The Amazing Race 14 was premiered. It is the newest season of this series. Hmm, for the third time in a row, the race started in a place around Los Angeles, I wonder why, hmmm...
Anyway, all teams went from LA to Locarno, Switzerland. In the end, it was literally a footrace between Preston & Jennifer and Christie & Jodi but in the end the all female team won the footrace saving them from the very first elimination. Well, the task was so cool, bungee jumping on a dam on the first leg, plus the cheese task which was obviously so tough (200 pounds of cheese and brought them down the steep hill? Nuts).
About the team, some attracted me. They are Tammy & Victor, Christie & Jodi, Amanda & Kris, and probably Margie & Luke. Luke is a deaf contestant, the first in the US series, and the second in the overall The Amazing Race version (the first one was Adrian from TARA 2).
Anyway, this season the producers changed the show a bit. They remixed the intro (you can watch it below), changed the fonts, and I think the image a bit (now we have split scenes, etc), hmm... . Overall, it was so cool and I think it's gonna bring positive effects.
Well, overall, the premiere of TAR 14 was a blast for me, so awesome and cool! :)Even Phil Keoghan also said: "You are team number .. ONE!!" in American Sign Language because Luke, the winner of this leg, is deaf. Hmm!! For me, that's so cool and totally unexpected! :) GREAT
::: Christie & Jodi with the cheese, they're huge
::: the new intro (opening sequence) of TAR 14
note: photo is taken from the official website of TAR 14, video is taken from Youtube
BAHASA INDONESIA
Hmm, hari ini The Amazing Race 14 mulai ditayangkan. Ini adalah season terbaru dari acara ini. Hmm, untuk ketigakalinya berurutan, race-nya dimulai di deketnya Los Angeles, kenapa yah, hmmm...
Ngomong2, semua tim pergi dari LA ke Locarno, Swiss. Di akhir babak pertama, beneran deh merupakan adu lari (secara harafiah) antara Preston & Jennifer dan Christie & Jodi tapi akhirnya tim semua wanita yang menang dan menyelamatkan mereka dari eliminasi pertama. Hmm, tugas2nya keren tuh, bungee jumping di sebuah bendungan di leg pertama, trus tugas keju beneran berat tuh (keju seberat 200 pon harus dibawa menuruni bukit yang terjal? Gila).
Tentang timnya, beberapa menarik perhatianku. Mereka adalah Tammy & Victor, Christie & Jodi, Amanda & Kris, dan mungkin Margie & Luke. Luke adalah kontestan yang tulis, yang pertama di Seri Amerika dan yang kedua di antara semua seri The Amazing Race (Adrian dari TARA 2 adalah yang pertama tuh).
Ngomong2, season ini produsernya sedikit mengubah acaranya. Mereka me-remix intronya (bisa dilihat di atas), mengubah fonts, dan gambarnya sedikit juga kayanya (sekarang ada split scenes, dll), hmm... . Secara keseluruhan bener2 keren dan aku rasa ini akan membawa efek yang baik.
Yah, secara keseluruhan, premier TAR 14 bener2 heboh, dan keren banget dah!! :) Bahkan Phil Keoghan juga bilang: "You are team number .. ONE!!" (Kalian tim nomor .. SATU) dalam Bahasa Isyarat Tangan Amerika karena Luke, pemenang leg ini, tuli. Hmm!! Untuk aku itu keren dan tak terduga sama sekali!! :) HEBAT
Well, starting about one month ago, the newest season of American Idol has started. This week, we are left with the top 36 contestants (wow, new system. About this new system will be written on the next paragraph), 18 male and 18 female contestants. Well, just based on some episodes throughout the audition and Hollywood Weeks, I think probably this year the winner will be another male contestant. It's simply because I think there are more male singers who are better while there are only fewer female contestants who are great, hmmm... . But we will see, we can't never judge before they actually perform, haha
Anyway, about the system change this year, it's back to the old system where contestants are split into several groups, and the top vote-getters of each groups automatically enter the top 12. There are also three wildcard seats this year. All contestants are split into three groups of twelve. Each week, the male top vote-getter, female top vote-getter, and the next top vote-getter contestant regardless their gender of each groups will secure seats on the top 12. On the fourth week, the judges will pick three more contestants as wildcard to also be on the top 12.
Hmm, me persoally prefer the system they used throughout season 4 to season 7 where there were top 24 contestants (12 male and 12 female) and each week we eliminated 4 of them (all contestants performed every week). I dunno why but this way, I think it's kinda more fair for the contestants, hmmm... . Maybe they are back to the old system to save more budget??
Next week is gonnabe the first group week.
BAHASA INDONESIA
Hmm, mulai sekitar sebulan lalu, season baru dari American Idol udah mulai neh. Minggu ini, akhirnya didapatkan 36 besar kontestan (wah, sistem yang baru neh. Tentang sistem baru ni akan dibahas di paragraf selanjutnya), 18 laki2 dan 18 perempuan. Hmm, berdasar beberapa episodes selama minggu audisi dan minggu Hollywood, rasanya pemenang tahun ini akan laki2 lagi deh. Ya gampang aja, karena rasanya sih lebih banyak kontestan laki2 yang bagus daripada yang perempuan, hmmm... . Tapi nanti deh dilihat, kan gabisa men-judge sebelum mereka beneran tampil, haha
Ngomong2, tentang perubahan sistem tahun ini, sebenarnya ini balik lagi ke sistem lama dimana kontestan dibagi ke dalam beberapa grup, dan yang mendapat voting tertinggi dari tiap grup masuk ke 12 besar. Tahun ini juga ada tiga kursi wildcard. Semua kontestan dibagi ke dalam tiga grup, duabelas kontestan masing2. Setiap minggu, laki2 dengan voting tertinggi, perempuan dengan voting tertinggi, dan kontestan dengan suara tertinggi setelahnya (ga peduli laki2 atau perempuan), akan masuk ke top 12. Di minggu keempat, juri akan memilih tiga kontestan lagi untuk memenuhi sisa kursi di top 12.
Hmm, kalau aku pribadi koq malah lebih suka sama sistem yang dipake di season 4 sampe 7 ya dimana ada 24 besar (12 laki2 dan 12 perempuan) dan setiap minggu dieliminasi 4 orang (semua kontestan tampil tiap minggu). Gatau kenapa tapi kalo pake cara ini, rasanya lebih adil aja untuk kontestannya, hmmm... . Mungkin satu alasan kenapa koq sistemnya balik jadi yang lama lagi adalah untuk penghematan biaya??
Well, there's not so many things I can write right now.
Yea, I just love Tuesday morning. Why? Because Tuesday is the only day of my active days on campus where my lecture starts at 1 PM (lectures start in the morning on the other days). However, I hate Tuesday evening. Why? Because on Wednesday I have my seminar class where I have to present a presentation each week. So, on Tuesday evening I gotta make presentation slides, and of course prepare for all materials for my presentation! Hmmm...
Anyway, lemme take a lil' break from that for now. Today, I did at least two stupid things. First of all, I forgot to bring my wallet when I wanted to have breakfast this morning, damn! Lucky I noticed that before I ordered food so I could go back first and took my wallet. Lucky. Then, my second stupid thing was that I FORGOT to pay for my breakfast! WTF!! Usually, on that canteen, we pay in advance. That was not the case this morning where the canteen was so busy. The seller asked me just to pay after I ate. Well, because I had appointment on campus so I was in a hurry. My body went automatically leaving the canteen right after I finished eating forgetting the unusual occasion. Dang!! Lucky I realized that on campus so when I got back I stopped by there and paid for it, haha...
BAHASA INDONESIA
Hmm, ga ada banyak hal yang bisa aku tulis sekarang neh.
Ya, aku cuma suka Selasa pagi aja sekarang. Kenapa? Soalnya Selasa adalah satu-satunya hari di hari aktifku di kampus dimana kuliahku dimulai jam 1 siang (kuliah mulainya selalu di pagi hari terus di hari2 lain). Namun, aku ga suka Selasa malam. Kenapa? Soalnya kan Rabu aku ada kuliah seminar dimana setiap minggu aku harus presentasi. Jadi, di Selasa malam aku harus membuat slide presentasi-nya dan tentu saja mempersiapkan bahan presentasi itu! Hmmm...
Ngomong2, biarkan saya istirahat bentar dari itu ah. Hari ini, aku melakukan setidaknya dua hal bodoh. Yang pertama, masa tadi aku lupa bawa dompet waktu mau sarapan pagi tadi, sial! Untungnya aku nyadar sebelum pesan jadinya kan bisa balik dulu ngambil tuh dompet. Untung deh. Kemudian, kebodohan kedua adalah aku LUPA membayar tuh sarapan! WTF!! Yah, biasanya di tu kantin kan kita bayar di depan. Namun, bukan itu kasusnya tadi. Karena kantinnya lagi sibuk banget makanya penjualnya nyuruh aku bayarnya nanti saja habis makan. Nah, karena ada janji di kampus makanya aku lagi keburu-buru. Badanku bergerak otomatis dengan langsung cao setelah makan tidak sadar ketidak-biasaan itu. Sial!! Untungnya nyadar de di kampus jadinya waktu pulang bisa mampir dulu untuk bayar, haha...
This semester, the busiest day of the week is SATURDAY!! I have non-stop classes right from 8 AM until 3 PM ++ every Saturday, *sigh*. Well, as a compensation of that, I have not so full days on Tuesday until Friday, eventho I still have morning classes on most of those days. Therefore, I was soo tired last Saturday.
Anyway, last Friday my friends and I did some villa-surveys for this year's "Temu Akrab". After surveying some, we made a deal on one villa for 28th February 2009, not realizing that that date is graduation date on my campus! Hmmm!!! A problem now occurs. We have two options actually, still conducting it on that date, or postpone it. However, if we choose the latter, we gotta postpone it until the end of March. Ugh, that could be too long. Hmmm...
::: Bakso I had at Lembang last Friday after surveying.
::: my meal at Hokben today.
BAHASA INDONESIA
Wah, ini adalah posting nomor 666!! Hmmm!!!
Semester ini, hari tersibuk dalam seminggu adalah SABTU!! Aku ada kuliah non-stop dari jam 8 pagi sampai jam 3 sore ++ loh setiap Sabtu, *sigh*. Hmm, sebagai kompensasinya, hari Selasa sampai Jumat rada nyantai deh, walaupun di kebanyakan hari-hari itu aku kuliah pagi. Makanya, kemarin Sabtu tepar banget dah.
Ngomong2, Jumat kemarin aku dan beberapa teman men-survey villa untuk "Temu Akrab" tahun ini. Habis men-survey beberapa villa, kita deal dengan salah satu villa untuk tanggal 28 Februari 2009, tidak menyadari bahwa tanggal itu adalah tanggal wisudaan di kampus! Hmmm!!! Masalah neh. Yah, ada dua alternatif penyelesaian sih sebenarnya, tetap mengadakannya pada tanggal itu atau menundanya. Namun, kalau kita memilih menundanya, kita harus menunda sampai akhir Maret. Ugh, kan bisa kelamaan tuh. Hmmm...
So, as you can read at my previous entry, I went to Jakarta last Wednesday, and I drove myself.
This trip was actually to meet some TARA friends and Vince, the winner of The Amazing Race Asia 3 from Hong Kong when he visited Indonesia last Tuesday till Thursday. I departed at 12 PM from my boarding house and left Bandung at about 12.20 PM. I actually planned to go at around 2 PM so that I could have more time to rest before the trip. But then I remembered the "3 in 1" policy in Jakarta. Therefore I chose to depart a bit earlier.
At 1.45 PM I arrived at Pondok Gede Timur Tollgate Jakarta. I then went to Grand Indonesia (well, I didn't enter the mall tho but just was wandering around that mall to wait for a friend to pick me up since I didn't know the way to go to the meeting place that afternoon). At about 2.30 PM we met and went to Satai House Senayan at Menteng. There of course we ate and chatted.
At about 4.15 PM we left the Satai House and went to Monas. Well, I have ever been to Monas ONCE before, about 15 years ago, LOL. Even at that time I didn't go to the top of it since the elevator was broken down. We arrived at Monas and parked at the I.R.T.I parking lot. Well, it was drizzling at that time and we gotta run a bit (one incident happened when the door had already been closed (dang) but we managed to enter the monument). I guess we were the last visitors that day, haha. So, we managed to get to the top floor of the monument where we could see the city of Jakarta around.
Next. On 5.59 PM we left Monas and went to Grand Indonesia. There we went to a Gado-Gado restaurant (I dun really remember the name). It was where we spend most of the time. Beside some friends, the M&M (Mardy & Marsio) Bros from TARA 1 also came!! They are racers representing Indonesia on season 1 of TARA who did really well during the race. They were really really really nice!! haha... .
I actually planned to go back to Bandung at about 8.45 PM but time really flew and suddenly it was 9.30 PM, haha... . After that we left Grand Indonesia and myself left Jakarta at about 10.15 AM and arrived at Bandung at 12 AM.
Well, that's pretty much my trip to Jakarta last Wednesday. It was exhausting, but really fun and exciting! :) Yea, it was my second gathering with racers after this time last year with Brett, Adrian, and Collin (the winner of season 2) when they came to Bandung.
::: at Sate House Senayan
::: Tugu Monas
::: one spot of Jakarta with some skycrapers. You can see the Bank Indonesia Towers. Taken from the top of Monas
::: one spot of Jakarta. You can see Jakarta Gambir Railway Station and an Argo-Class train entering one platform. Taken from the top of Monas
::: at Grand Indonesia
::: Mardy, me, Vince, and Marsio
BAHASA INDONESIA
Ya, seperti yang bisa dibaca pada posting sebelumnya, aku pergi ke Jakarta hari Rabu kemarin, dan aku nyetir sendiri loh.
Perjalanan ini sebenernya untuk ketemuan sama teman2 TARA dan Vince, pemenang dari The Amazing Race Asia 3dari Hong Kong yang sedang berkunjung ke Indonesia dari Selasa sampai Kamis kemarin. Aku berangkat jam 12 siang dari kos dan meninggalkan Bandung jam 12.20 siang. Sebenernya rencana awalku adalah berangkatnya jam 2an jadi kan aku bisa istirahat dulu. Namun, aku trus ingat ada aturan "3 in 1" di beberapa jalan utama di Jakarta. Maka dari itu aku memutuskan berangkatnya agak awal saja deh.
Sekitar jam 1.45 siang aku sudah sampai di Gerbang Tol Pondok Gede Timur Jakarta. Aku trus pergi ke Grand Indonesia (hmm, bukan untuk masuk ke mall-nya sih tapi cuma muter2 di sekitarnya aja untuk nunggu dijemput sama temen soalnya kan aku gatau jalan menuju tempat ketemuannya siang itu). Sekitar jam 2.30 siang kita ketemu dan pergi ke Satai House Senayan di Menteng. Di sana tentu saja kita makan dan ngobrol2 gitu.
Sekitar jam 4.15 sore kita meninggalkan Satai House-nya dan pergi ke Monas. Yah, aku sudah pernah pergi ke Monas SEKALI sebelumnya, sekitar 15 tahun yang lalu, LOL. Waktu itu juga aku ga naik sampai puncaknya soalnya lift-nya lagi rusak. Nah, kita terus tiba di Monas dan parkir di I.R.T.I. Hmm, beberapa saat disana hujan gerimis dan bikin kita harus lari-lari tuh (ada satu insiden dimana setelah lari-larian eh pintunya ditutu (sialan) tapi akhirnya bisa masuk monumen-nya juga sih). Aku rasa kami adalah pengunjung terakhir waktu itu deh, haha. Trus, kita naik sampai puncak Monas dimana kita bisa melihat kota Jakarta dari atas.
Lanjut. Jam 5.59 sore kita meninggalkan Monas dan menuju Grand Indonesia. Disana kita ke restoran Gado-Gado gitu (ga gitu ingat namanya neh). Disanalah waktu paling banyak dihabiskan. Di samping beberapa teman, M&M (Mardy & Marsio) dari TARA 1 juga datang loh!! Mereka adalah racers yang mewakili Indonesia di TARA musim 1 dan mereka nge-race dengan sangat baik di season 1. Mereka bener-bener deh orang yang amat amat baik dan ramah aslinya!! haha... .
Aku sebenarnya berencana untuk balik ke Bandung sekitar jam 8.45 tuh tapi trus waktu berlalu sangat cepat dan tiba-tiba sudah jam 9.30 malam, haha... . Habis itu kita meninggalkan Grand Indonesia. Aku sih meninggalkan Jakarta jam 10.15 malam dan tiba di Bandung jam 12 dini hari.
Yah, kurang lebih itulah perjalananku ke Jakarta hari Rabu kemarin. Melelahkan sih, tapi asik dan menarik! :) Ya, kemarin adalah gathering keduaku dengan racers TARA setelah waktu ini tahun lalu ketika Brett, Adrian, dan Collin (pemenang season 2) datang ke Bandung.
Well, this morning I had my first presentation of twelve presentation on this semester's Seminar. Overall it went really well. Hopefully next week it's also gonnabe well since each week, the matery is getting harder and harder, hmmm... .
Anyway, this afternoon I'm going to Jakarta. I'm not gonna stay there, tonight I'm going back to Bandung again tho, hehe... :) I'll write about this later.
BAHASA INDONESIA
Yah, pagi tadi aku menjalani presentasi pertama dari dua belas presentasi di Seminar semester ini. Secara keseluruhan presentasiku berjalan lancar koq. Mudah2an minggu depan lebih lancar lagi deh, soalnya materinya kan makin sulit tiap minggu, hmmm... .
Ngomong2, siang nanti aku akan ke Jakarta neh. Aku ga akan nginep disana, jadinya nanti malem aku akan balik ke Bandung lagi, hehe... :) Aku akan tulis tentang ini nanti deh.
Well, now we're in early February. I have one bad news for myself which is starting this Sunday my internet connection is, once again, off. WTF!!! This thing really sucks!! Hmmm!!
Anyway, today my friends and I went karaokeing for the first time this year, wahahaha... . Well, because I joined the membership this time, today we got a 10% discount and I also got a 2 hour free pass on a Large Room, wahahaha... .
O yea, last Sunday, 2009 Australian Open finally ended. Serena Williams became the women champion and Rafael Nadal became the gentlemen champion. Well, this finale really proves that Nadal is the best male player in the world right now. He could beat Federer who I think had more experience in hard court and had more rest than him (in contrast, Nadal had a really long and exhausting five sets match in the semifinal against Fernando Verdasco while Federer only had three sets match in the semifinal against Andy Roddick). I first thought Federer would win this time but apparently I was wrong. Great Job Nadal!! :) About Serena Williams, she really is the best female player now. Dinara Safina really didn't play well on the finale I think, losing 0 - 6 on the first set, hmmm... .
::: bakso I had this evening
::: Serena Williams with her trophy
::: Rafael Nadal with his trophy
::: emotional Roger Federer
note: photos of Australian Open are taken from the official website.
BAHASA INDONESIA
Yah, sekarang kita sudah tiba di awal bulan Februari. Aku ada satu berita buruk untuk diri sendiri yaitu (sekali lagi) koneksi internetku error sejak Minggu. WTF!! Bener2 udah menyebalkan sekali neh!! Hmmm!!
Ngomong2, hari ini tadi aku dan teman2 karaokean untuk yang pertama kalinya tahun ini, wahahahaha... . Hmm, karena aku join member pada waktu ini, tadi kita dapat diskon 10% dan dapat free pas untuk Ruang yang Large selama dua jam, wahahaha... .
O iya, kemarin Minggu, akhirnya 2009 Australian Open selesai. Serena Williams menjadi juara wanita dan Rafael Nadal menjadi juara pria. Hmm, finalnya bener2 membuktikan kalau memang Nadal adalah pemain pria terbaik di dunia sekarang deh. Dia bisa mengalahkan Federer yang menurutku memiliki pengalaman lebih unggul di lapangan keras dan istirahat lebih lama dari dia (kebalikan banget neh, Nadal padahal menjalani semifinal lima set yang keras melawan Fernando Verdasco sementara Federer hanya menjalani semifinal tiga set lawan Andy Roddick). Pertamanya aku kira Federer yang akan menang kali ini namun ternyata aku salah. Hebat Nadal!! :) Kalau Serena Williams, memang dia yang terbaik sih. Dinara Safina bener2 lagi nggak gitu bagus menurutku mainnya di final, sampe bisa kalah 0 - 6 di babak pertama, hmmm... .
ENGLISH
::: Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Danny Gokey, three contestants from group 1 who made it to the top 12 last week.
::: Allison Iraheta, Kris Allen, and Adam Lambert, three contestants from group 2 who made it to the top 12 this week.
BAHASA INDONESIA
