Hopelessly Devoted to You, oh PDE

I have printed out my second 16.930 assignments and for many reasons refused to check through it again. I have submitted my codes online and that's it.

This afternoon, I have printed out the third assignment -- 38 pages!! We're told to read the first two sections before the class tomorrow. Oh, well...

My current research has nothing to do with PDE, Finite Element, nor Computational Fluid Dynamics. Sometimes people ask me why I take this subject. I am almost convinced by now that I am a massochist...

when boredom strikes you...

One prominent Geminian girls' trait is: we get bored very easily.

Those who're close enough to me know that I can be 'dangerous' when I get bored (which happens far too often). I will disturb people, talk/write/blog nonsense, suggests to do some crazy things, and DO some crazy things or at least THINK about improbable things, like, start learning to sing. Don't worry, it has never happened.

I spent almost my entire weekend churning over my PDE assignments, where I need to prove and prove and prove nasty and long equations.
If you can't imagine it, I'll try to describe:
let your brain be a wet laundry which is compressed and squeezed and squeezed until no liquid can be juiced out of it.

Now, I have to write the report. Fuh, not a good timing. I am a bit sick and bored to death with those equations.

Before anything 'dangerous' happens, I e-mailed my friend yesterday asking what should I do. She was, apparently, doing her own 'equally-laborious homework' in System Optimization.

This may sound silly, but what she wrote in the e-mail kinda lifts my mood up:

-- start quote --
If it's any comfort to you - I'm bored too (the homework is boring) ;)
-- end quote --

Uuugghh..

Ugh, it seems that I have no other activities than attending classes, torture my brains with PDEs, writing reports for my assignments and do homeworks. I feel lucky (inappropriately) that I still can't access the (bigger) database for my research. At least that's a valid reason to stop working (for a while).

I slept later than my roommate everyday and have left the room even before she wakes up. Blaaahhh...

At this time, I almost scream when looking at LaTeX or MATLAB page. I am craving for shopping. It's dangerous though, as when I go shopping after craving for it, I'll do the REAL shopping. In other words, I tend to spend more than usual as I think "Oh Gosh at least I deserve a good break and little rewards of my hardwork." See how dangerous is that?

What I crave are:
- cheesecakes with fresh strawberries
- running around barefooted at the beach
- shopping
- a good, long, deep slumber
- admission for PhD here next year (please do pray for meeeeeeeeee.....)

Current accompanying CD: Agnus Dei II, which self-proclaim as the music to soothe the soul...

purge out

My code still doesn't work =(

I have checked and rechecked for hours, until I have memorized everything (well, almost). I am pretty sure they are correct -- so my hunch is that the formula given is wrong (yea, finding a culprit). As yesterday, after spending hours in proving something, I found that a kappa is missing in the equation given-- so there went my hours. I am hoping the same thing happens now =P.

Anyway, I still have other homeworks and reports -- I know I can't just focus on one assignment especially when you've read it for SO MANY TIMES -- but it is still buggy huhuhu :'(.

This assignment needs lengthy proofs. So practically my Sunday was gone yesterday. The black board that I used to derive them is still not cleaned, yea I forgot to do so =P. Everytime I passed it by, the min max max min lambda vh uh psi blablabla rather haunt me.

Geez, I hate it when my code doesn't work and my friends haven't started. I feel like checking the code with someone, right here, right now.

I feel my head is "crowded" now. That's why I blog, though I may write nonsense here, simply to purge out the "crowd".

Wish my luck, guys... Life is never easy indeed.

my life -- this time

Everytime I wake up, I think: Oh, tonight I should sleep more.

Every Monday, I think: Next week I should rest more and have more fun.

But it never happened =( I believe my blood is blackened from caffeine now.

On a happier note: sun comes out, flowers start blooming and I can wear my short.
But today it's too much!! 81F/27C!!! I don't really enjoy it though, I've had enough share of it in Jakarta/Singapore...

*ngantuuuuuuukkk*

live once

From an MIT t-shirt:
People say you live only once, but if you live like us, once is enough.

S.O. T.I.R.E.D.

But I say: Life is tough but we are tougher.

Oh Gosh...

hiburan belajar

Sebenernya ga ada yang penting sih. Lagi belajar di Hayden library, abis lunch break (emang rada telat lunchnya). Hari ini Patriot's Day holiday jadi gak ada kelas. Kayaknya cuma di MA state yang libur, entah buat apa. Cuma emang katanya di MIT suka diselipin long weekend -- untuk mengurangi suicidal rate, ini beneran lho.

Hmm, cuma...
yak ampun cowok di depan g ganteng banget!!!

Anak kecil, masi undergrad pastinya. Haduh tapi dia kalo jadi aktor pasti laku deh. Rambutnya keriting dan item -- bukan bule. Nampaknya pandai dan serius sekali. Kayaknya majornya Math -- kalo ngintip coret2annya sih. Huhu jarang-jarang lho g bilang cowok yang tidak berkaca mata ganteng. Jadi ini beneran ganteng.

Gebleknya, tadi pas dia dateng g gak nyadar kalo ada Arjuna mendarat di depan gua -- gua masih berkutat dengan PR gua ma... -- pas mau lunch break, baru liat -- alamak ganteng pisan.

Kalo di film2 Indo jaman doeloe, adegannya tiba-tiba berganti jadi gini nih:
pantai, angin sepoi-sepoi, matahari terbenam, 1 cewek (pake rok panjang kembang-kembang) dan 1 cowok (lengan baju disingsingkan) lari-lari senyum sumringah dan di slow motion kan, cowoknya bawa mawar merah. Background sound nya debur ombak plus Kemesraan kali ya.

Yah gitu deh, kebayang kan.

OK, back to work!

wet wet wet

Conclusively, today is a day that is -- in my dictionary -- worth-blogged.

What happened today stems from an unwritten agreement among some of us to:
- work crazily hard during week days
- have some time off on Sunday

So, our agenda on Sunday is like:
- attend 9.30 am mass
- socializing after mass until around 11 am
- start walking (yes, by foot!) and find some place to have lunch
- chit chat, battle of the wits, gossip, talk about music and everything under the sun
- go back at around 4~6 pm
- get back to work!! The mad routine starts all over again

It works! In fact, I think we increase our working efficiency significantly. This kind of Sunday is a day worth slaving ourselves away the entire week.

Before I start reciting our today's encounter, let me introduce you the actors and actress for today's drama:
- me: you've known me
- sw: the towering Austrian girl, who makes my research life less uptight -- also in aero/astro
- mv: the Indian girl, studying Computational System for Biology (CSB)
- bs: a malaysian guy, also in CSB, who knows Sheila on 7 and Peterpan much more than I do
- nb: an Indian guy, also in CSB
- ap: a Colombian guy, in Architecture
- rv: a American-Philippino girl from LA (her cousin went to high school with Kirsten Dunst - ga penting si), also in Architecture

To start with, the weather today was soooooooooo horrible. It was even worse than last week! The weather comprises everything to describe a 'bad weather'. Rain, merciless wind, strong wing, crazy wind, mad wind, lunatic wind, and cold. To make things even worse, I forgot to wear my winter boots -- thus waterproof -- how stupid was that. My toes literally froze and the shoes-socks-feet were soaking wet. Far from comfortable.

The first adventurous thing to do was: to WALK all the way to Super88 market -- went to the end of MIT, further, cross the Boston University (BU) bridge, walked along Commonwealth Ave, until the junction with Brighton Ave. In total, it was more than 30 minutes... in SUCH WEATHER!!!

The bottom half of my jeans and my shoes (and everything underneath) were soaking wet when I entered the Food Corner. We planned to get our lunch from Bali Kitchen, i.e., the Indonesian food stall but it was only opened at 12:30 pm. Typically, it was late for almost half an hour. So meanwhile, we looked at other stalls around and get some bubble tea (Thai Iced Tea without boba -- in Singapore 'pearl').

Honestly, I've never dared to ask somebody to try Indonesian food. Well, you know, not all stomach can take spicy (a lot of spices, not only chilli) or thick (coconut milk-y) food. But they were determined -- oh I am so proud of them -- to try it anyway. As an attempt to abate my responsibility of whatever aftermath that may come out, I suggested something 'mild' or at least not too shocking. Like for the Austrian girl -- I almost forcefully restricted her choice to Ayam Kalasan. I suggested Ayam Bumbu Bali only to the Malaysian and Indian guys. The Colombian insisted to take Sayur Asem -- only to sweat afterwards *padahal udah g bilangin lho*. I took Soto Betawi, mv Rendang, and rv didn't buy Indonesian food as she was too hungry to wait.

For appetizer: Pempek Palembang, Siomay Bandung, Satay Sate Ayam.

The one who stole the ABSOLUTE limelight: Pempek Palembang. *hip hip hurraaaayy* *applause*

The runner-up: Sate Ayam. *keplok-keplok*

sw and mv were sooo crazy of pempek's vinegar that they pour the vinegar onto their rice *geleng-geleng kepala*.

Trivia for today: I am the only one who even think that the vinegar is too hot (spicy). sw even ate her ayam kalasan with the chilli *terkadang saya malu ngaku orang Indonesia karena ga bisa makan pedes*.

Stomach full, we start chit-chatting: girls and guys. The girls talked about DURIAN. sw was soooo curious about this king of the fruit. During a dinner with our advisor, our advisor described durian in the meanest way: smells like *....* (omitted as I don't want to hurt any durian lovers), tastes like onion, illegal to carry around in Singapore's public transport. Only me and rv have eaten durian before and love it. bs has, too, but is neutral.

What's next?

We found durian in the supermarket! It was a long and complicated decision-making process until we came to the conclusion that we'd buy it and eat it and everybody has to try <-- imposed by rv.

Walking back was the first drama as the wind was doubly strong as before (though I thought the morning's one was already at the upper bound). Halfway through BU bridge, my umbrella flapped up. I also saw some other people's umbrella having the same problem. To prevent any further damage and permanent deformation, I closed it and relied on my cap instead. Not long after, sw's umbrella badly -- sooo badly --- flapped up. It's so funny looking at a very tall girl wrestling with a small umbrella and she'd never given up. We laughed so hard until we cried. The kind of laughter that can wash away all your worries -- if you know what I meant. The strong wind disable you to close the umbrella -- seriously it was that bad, you really can't close it. To complete the agony, a car passed by and we had a free shower. We laughed again -- now I think about it, I think we were simply lunatic.

Walking back to Tang Hall (sw's dorm -- as she's the only one with the gigantic chopping knife a.k.a golok) we started fantasizing about sunny beach in Santa Monica, Texan desert, etc. rv -- the Valley girl <- remember "Clueless" -- was enticing us with tantalizing description of the beauty (and sunny) side of US: west coast. Arriving in Tang, we were soaking wet, my feet froze and our hairs were so entangled *kayak tikus kejebur got*.

The next highlight of the day (second drama) was (in fact the brightest highlight): cutting open the durian!
We were so inexperienced, some of us haven't even seen a durian before, that it was literally a bloody encounter. We took turn (umm well, some of us were just cheering them up) to try to open the stubborn grenade -- wrestling is the way rv puts it. I kept on saying "that's not the right way, it should split automatically after a right cut" but couldn't tell them how-to. It was a long fun-filled process...

Well, finally we did it! After a long encounter, we had our durian BADLY deformed, all the seeds were chopped (geblek kan) no single piece has the shape it should have. The living room was full of debris from durian's skin, really they were everywhere. And the guys talked about durian in words like cavity -- so engineering -- and compartmentalized -- so archie and urban planning.

Next question from them was: what will happen when a durian falls down from a tree?
The Colombian guy shared that in Colombia, there's a statistic for people died from fallen coconut!!

And you know what? They like durian!! I was sooo surprised. *beaming* They can beat Fear Factor contestants now...

We also talked about few games and decided to have a game-night one day, only among us.

We tried to persuade the Colombian to do a rendition of Shakira: spanish song with some belly dancing but he refused, too bad.

I'm sleepy now so I'll stop here.... Good night! *3am now*

PS: the weather when I walked back from Tang to Green Hall was even worse than the precedences!

rekan-rekan sebangsa setanah air, bersiaplah untuk pingsan!!

Here at MIT, I join an Acrylic painting class which I enjoy soooo klin bersih cemerlang much. The teacher is an artist -- an American guy who is still quite young, walau diduga dengan kuat dia ada darah Italy-nya.

Nah kelas painting ini adalah saat-saat yang paling ditunggu-tunggu -- setiap Kamis jam 4.30 sampe jam 7 malem. Biasanya kita menggambar sendiri-sendiri (ya iyalah masa keroyokan) terus sekitar jam 6-an akan ada critique session. Nah seru kan? Sekelas ada 5 orang, 2 undergrad, 2 grad students and 1 oom2 (ya ga tua-tua banget sih benernya, cuma metuek -- Jawa Timuran here -- entah dia termasuk kriteria mana).

Pas Kamis kemarin, cuma ada 3 orang. Si oom-oom tersebut tiada ada, bagus deh... soalnya kalo dia ada, sesi kritik mengkritik nya jadi serius banget. Soalnya dia ngomonginnya tuh energi lah, gelombang lah, mood lah, pokoknya yang gitu-gitu deh. Ngomongnya pun menggebu-gebu kayak ahli-ahli di tipi tanpa topi pet. Sementara kita yang muda-muda *ehm* kalo komen paling soal warna dan komen-komen kayak "eh coba dibalik, jadi kayak miki mos" (ini komen g terhadap lukisan g sendiri) terus g juga pernah komen-in gambar si oom2 tersebut: "eh coba dibalik, jadi kayak Mighty Ducks yah" eh dia cemberut lho. Padahal beneran kayak bebek pake helm. Tapi dia ngakunya futuristic something lah. Emang sih kelas kita alirannya abstrak, jadi suka nongol gambar aneh-aneh bin eksperimental. Tapi kan itu serunya yah?

Nah minggu lalu dia sakit kepala, mungkin kena morning sickness soalnya istrinya lagi mil-ha.
Jadi suasananya nyante banget... kita ngomonin soal film, buku dan Bob Ross' happy little painting.

Terus nyasar sampe soal liburan -- karena sang guru lagi pengen jalan-jalan ke Asia, tapi dia gak tau apa-apa tentang Asia! Jadi g semangat 45 sampe mulut berbusa-busa dan cat di palet kering -- promosiin Bali! G selalu promosi Bali ke orang-orang, ada tuh MIT professor yang pas dia bilang mau ke Bali g kasi list-list tempat yang dia kudu datengin (KuDeTa, Dreamland for example).

Nah, temen American girl g, dia pernah tinggal di Singapore selama 3.5 taon (bokapnya expat). Jadi dia pernah ke Bali dan she loves it soooo klin memang untuk anda much. Terus cowok yang satunya, orang Jerman juga tau karena brother nya mau menghabiskan 6 bulan di Bali.

Jadi lah kita bertiga semangat promosiin Bali -- dan g bertanya-tanya dalam hati: ni ngaku-ngaku artis masa ga tau Bali?

Ketika cat g udah beneran mengering di palet (emang akrilik tuh cepet banget mengeringnya! catat!!) sang guru udah bener-bener tertarik dan excited sampe melonjak-lonjak (boong deh) tentang Bali.

G udah smug aja -- bangga bo, Bali gitu lhoooo... Pulau Dewata kita!

Sampe....

Detik berikutnya...

Dia nanya...

*rekan-rekan sebangsa setanah air, bersiaplah untuk pingsan!!"

"Oooohh... Bali, is that the Bollywood thingy?"

GUBRAK!! KROMPYANG!! GEDOMBRANG!! HOMPIMPA ALAIUM GAMBRENG UNYIL KUCING!!!

masaolo.... kok Bollywood yak? Jadi mulut g dah berbusa, cat g udah kering, dia masi ga tau gimana nyepel Bali... yaolo yaolo tobat pak.

dan kita bertiga pun segera mengajari dia cara nyepel BALI. B-A-L-I!! Bukan Bolly!!
g ngakak keras banget saat itu.... ya ampyun ya ampyun...

pesan terakhir: sayangilah lingkungan anda! ini bukan basa-basi tapi masalah penghangatan global sudah menjadi topik paling panas (no pun intended) di sini! Jadi, kurangi penggunaan CO2, dan kurangi frekuensi (maaf) kentut anda. Jokes aside, g bener-bener peduli terhadap masalah lingkungan hidup sekarang. 2 minggu lagi Earth Day!!!

Easter Songs

Inspired by Mbak Okke's post recently, allow me to share some beautiful songs that I always love to listen to especially in Easter's Holy Week.

I Only Want to Say (Gethsemane)
from Jesus Christ Superstar -- the Musical
(my fave being the one sung by Colm Wilkinson)

I only want to say
If there is a way
Take this cup away from me
For I don't want to taste its poison
Feel it burn me,
I have changed
I'm not as sure as when we started
Then I was inspired
Now I'm sad and tired
Listen surely I've exceeded
Expectations
Tried for three years
Seems like thirty
Could you ask as much
From any other man?

But if I die
See the saga through
And do the things you ask of me
Let them hate me, hit me, hurt me
Nail me to their tree
I'd want to know
I'd want to know my God
I'd want to know
I'd want to know my God
I'd want to see
I'd want to see my God
I'd want to see
I'd want to see my God

Why I should die
Would I be more noticed
Than I ever was before?
Would the things I've said and done
Matter any more?
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
I'd have to see
I'd have to see my Lord
I'd have to see
I'd have to see my Lord

If I die what will be my reward?
If I die what will be my reward?
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord
I'd have to know
I'd have to know my Lord

Why, why should I die?
Oh, why should I die?
Can you show me now
That I would not be killed in vain?
Show me just a little
Of your omnipresent brain
Show me there's a reason
For your wanting me to die
You're far too keen on where and how
But not so hot on why
Alright I'll die!
Just watch me die!
See how, see how I die!
Oh, just watch me die!

Then I was inspired
Now I'm sad and tired
After all I've tried for three years
Seems like ninety
Why then am I scared
To finish what I started
What you started
I didn't start it
God thy will is hard
But you hold every card
I will drink your cup of poison
Nail me to your cross and break me
Bleed me, beat me
Kill me, take me now
Before I change my mind

Via Dolorosa - by Sandi Patti
I actually sang this song for Good Friday 2002 when I was still in St Francis of Assisi choir.
I did tremble when singing this song, so beautiful =)

Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The Man condemned to die on Calvary

He was bleeding from a beating,
there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.

Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.
Por la Via Dolorosa, triste dia en Jerusalem
Los saldados le abrian paso a Jesus
Mas la gente se acercaba
Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz
Por la Via Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey, Senor
Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi
Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.
Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

How Beautiful - by Twila Paris
This song was sung by a duet (one of them was a Singapore Idol finalist) for Eucharistic Congress, Singapore Indoor Stadium 2004. I joined the choir but of course not among the soloists =).
This song is sooo serene.

How beautiful the hands that served
the wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth.

How beautiful the feet that walked
the long dusty roads
and the hills to the cross.

How beautiful, how beautiful
how beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the heart that bled
that took all my sin
and bore it instead.

How beautiful the tender eyes
that chose to forgive
and never despise.

How beautiful, how beautiful
how beautiful is the body of Christ.

And as He laid down His life
we offer this sacrifice
that we will live just as he died:
willing to pay the price
willing to pay the price.

How beautiful the radient Bride
who waits for her Groom
with His light in her eyes.
How beautiful when humble hearts give
the fruit of pure lives
so that others may live.

How beautiful, how beautiful
how beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the feet that bring
the sound of good news
and the love of the King.

How beautiful the hands that serve
the wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth.

How beautiful, how beautiful
how beautiful is the body of Christ.

gawat

When doing my research today, I need to access the code that I've written earlier, and see what I've found:

if flight.descent(1,22) - flight.cruise(1,22) < 0
disp('gawat');
end

Haha I believe I just wanted to do some debugging when putting that in. I've forgotten to remove that line afterwards.

Can't imagine if my advisor/project mate read that...

the girl who makes me look like a lilliput

In my family, I am the shortest one.
In Indonesia, I am considered tall.
In Singapore, I am considered very tall.
In some circle of friends, I am towering.
In the United States, I am normal.
Beside this girl, I am a lilliput.
None of us was wearing high heels in this photo.



I had so much fun today!
After the morning Easter mass, we joined the rest in Easter Brunch. I didn't eat much though as I know I'll be going to Quincy Market Hall and I had had my breakfast this morning. Afterwards, we walked to Quincy, passing through Boston Public Garden and Boston Common. The weather was just S.O. U.N.F.R.I.E.N.D.L.Y!!

It is supposed to be Spring already, for my goodness sake! The wind was blowing like there's no tomorrow. Like today is its last chance to blow. The wind was just to strong, it's even worse than some days in winter. Worst of all, I have shoved away my gloves, scarf and beanies -- winter attribute.

Though Quincy is as vibrant as ever, the food is as glorious as ever (we did spend some time just to decide what to eat -- I had lobster roll and clam chowder), the hightlight of today is the companionship.

MV is an Indian girl whom I've actually known since in Singapore, but only each other's name. We come to the same weekly mass here so that's how I met her again. We were even roommates in retreat.

SW is an Austrian girl who is my best companion in the lab. She is working under my advisor also and both of us (SW and I) admire our advisor S.O. M.U.C.H!! We both assent that she is a superwoman.

SW and I spend some time together during lunch and coffee break, which we consider as our survival essentials =). She is so fun and can be animated sometimes. I found a lot of similarity with her, including having a sister who is always much more relax and always confused why we can be so uptight. I am really lucky to have a lab mate like her =).

Colada Twist

tampan, pandai, bersuara emas dan berbakti pada Tuhan

Hahaha... tampan. Baheula banget ya kedengerannya?
Jadi inget, kalo ada cowok yang ngaku-ngaku tampan, biasanya g tanggepin dengan "Apa? Jamban?"
terus tampang yang diakui secara sepihak tampan itu pun seakan mau menelan g panjang-panjang (bukan menelan bulat-bulat karena orang-orang bilangnya gua panjang bukan bulet)

eniwei, tentang atribut yang tertera di atas. yak orang tersebut memang eksis. jarang banget kan? ya setidak-tidaknya g sendiri jarang menemukan makhluk langka yang patut dilestarikan itu.

Sebenernya g udah denger tentang dia udah lama. Temen g ada yang pernah nyebut. Tapi karena gak tertarik dengan pria baru sama sekali *haha* jadi ya cuek beibeh aja deh. Apa pentingnya coba?

Sampe akhirnya pada Pekan Suci ini, hampir tiap hari liat dia. Dia tak lain dan tak bukan adalah dirigen (bukan tempat aer -- jurigen, tapi konduktor yang mimpin koor) paduan suara dan anggota tetap misa minggu jam 5 sore. Secara kebetulan dia adalah seorang professor di School of Mathematics di MIT sini. Secara kebetulan lagi dia masih sangatlah MUDA. Dan lumayan ganteng. Ya ganteng sih sebenernya *kok kesannya mau muji ga rela gitu* tapi udah menunjukkan tanda-tanda kebotakan di kepala bagian depan *professor gitu lho*. Tapi ya tampangnya itu typical keluarga terhormat gitu deh, hidung mancung, pakai kaca mata, rapi bersih tinggi pula. Kalo winter gini pake kemeja plus sweater. Rapi jali.

Tapi man, suaranyaaaaaaaaa..... Oh ya Tuhanku *omigod* keren buanget. Sampe meleleh-leleh dengernya. Seakan-akan Marius Pontmercy meloncat keluar dari Les Miserables musical (I am referring to Michael Ball). Huhuhuhu keren banget deh. Jempol keangkat semua.

Ayo kalian yang single-single mari ke sini wuakakakkakakakka =D just kidding.
Yakin deh, dia tuh salah satu produk langka di dunia. Suaranya itu lho. Plus otak. Plus tampang. Tinggi pula. Mungkin ntar kalo g hamil suatu hari g akan dateng misa yang jam 5 deh *seakan-akan g pasti akan masih di sini*. Liatin dia nyanyi sambil elus-elus perut: "Nak, ntar keluar jadi kayak gitu yah. Dijamin kamu tidak akan mengalami ketidaklakuan, nak."

*iseng*

Iseng nih. Lagi nunggu 7.30. Ada apa dengan 7.30? Karena aku sudah berjanji pada temanku kalau aku akan tersedia (haha apa sih bahasa indo nya available) di e-mail sampe 7.30 pm so 7.30 pm it is. Padahal belum tentu dia bakal cari gua sih. Yak, 5 menit lagi.

Capek nih *mengusap peluh*. Sebenernya gak keringetan, karena seperti di post sebelumnya, Spring belum dateng-dateng juga! Huh kurang ajuaar emang. Tapi peluhnya di otak. G udah ngetik seharian. Gak cuma seharian, kemaren-kemaren juga. Semalem tidur berapa lama ya? Gak nyampe 5 jam yang jelas. Badan pegel-pegel terutama bahu kanan. Diapain yah? Hmm mungkin mesti minta pijet Bibi Marni *kalo kata Ebiet G Ade: Aku Ingin Pulang*.

G laper nih. Hmm makan apa ya enaknya? Mungkin chicken quesadilla. Tapi masalahnya, kalo gak makan di kamar rada males. Quesadilla suka dripping gitu jadi kan susah menjaga kebersihan dan keanggunan kalo makan di tempat umum. Kenapa hari ini gak makan di kamar? Karena abis ini mau langsung ikut misa malam Paskah di MIT Chapel yang berada di antara Student Center (gua lagi di reading room-nya) dan Green Hall (my lovely dorm). Jadi ya tunggu aja di sini.

Eh rekomen donk CD yang asyik dan bisa menemani belajar dan ga bikin bosen. G kan males bawa CD banyak-banyak ke sini, dan pada kenyataannya g udah rada bosen dengan CD2 tersebut dan MP3 list g. Mau beli tapi ga tau beli apa =P

Yak udah 7.30 pm! Dia gak e-mail juga, berarti g makan sendirian dan ketemu dia di chapel aja langsung. Chapel sini rada kecil, jadi g ga mau dateng mepet-mepet. Capek juga kan kalo berdiri sepanjang misa!

wahai engkau yang tak setia, mana janjimu?

Kau janjikan aku matahari,
kau janjikan aku angin sepoi-sepoi,
kau janjikan aku burung berkicau,
kau janjikan aku bunga indah berwarna-warni,
mana janjimu?

Kau katakan kau akan datang,
Paling lambat bulan April, katamu
Kutunggu dan kutunggu
Jendela kamarku adalah saksi
penantianku yang tak kunjung tiba
mana janjimu?

Tidak biasanya engkau tak setia
Tidak biasanya engkau lupa
Tidak biasanya engkau biarkan aku,
bertanya-tanya dalam hati
mana janjimu?

Kau hancurkan mimpiku
Untuk berlari bebas di taman bunga
Bercelana pendek dan bersandal jepit,
bersahabat dengan alam,
biarkan angin membelai lembut tubuhku

Kau masih berani bertanya apakah aku kecewa?
Huh, tahu diri donk!
Cukup sudah penantianku
Menguap sudah impianku

Musim semi, mana janjimu?
Ketika kau datang sehari-dua,
Apakah itu semua hanya basa-basi?
Sebuah formalitas belaka?

Tidak sayangkah kau padaku,
hingga kau biarkan Musim Dingin tetap menyelimutiku?

Oh, aku lelah!
Lelah dengan jaket yang tebal ini
Lelah dengan baju berlapis-lapis
Lelah mengenakan kaus kaki dan sepatu terus-menerus
Lelah dengan anginmu yang tidak berperikemanusiaan

Kalau kau memang lupa,
kan kuingatkan sekali lagi
Ini sudah April!
Sudah tiba saatnya engkau datang!!

Musim semi datanglah,
Datanglah dan seribu maaf akan kuhaturkan


Tertulis oleh seonggok jiwa,
yang merindukan kehangatan...
terutama celana pendek dan sendal jepit...

Butterfly's Kisses - Daddy's Little Girl

(entah kenapa lagi suka lagu ini)

Faith Hill:

Daddy take me with you

I promise I'll be good

Daddy, this is next time

And momma said I could

Sittin' in the front seat ridin' down town

An ice cream cone I'd wrap him around

My little finger

Tighter then my baby could

You can make a tear go a long long way

When you're daddy's little girl

Well he tightened my bike chain from 7 to 13

Taught me to drive when I was a wild thing

Reached and he prayed while I made some mistakes

That I wouldn't have made if I'd have done it his way

Now he hugs me when he sees me

We talk about the past

He tries to give me money

And I try and give it back

He's a book of advice

More than I need

The look in his eyes is saying to me

Let me help you all I can

While I'm still in this world

What will you do when your daddy's gone

And you're daddy's little girl

Tim McGraw:

There's two things I know for sure

She was sent here from heaven

And she's daddy's little girl

As I drop to my knees by her bed at night

She talks to Jesus

And I close my eyes

And I think God for all of the joy in my life

Oh, but most of all

For butterfly kisses

With her momma there

Stickin' little white flowers

All up in her hair

Walk me down the isle daddy

It's just about time

Does my wedding gown look pretty daddy?

Daddy don't cry

With all that I've done wrong

I must have done something right

To deserve her love every morning

And butterfly kisses for life

Faith Hill:

What'll I do when my daddy's gone

sebuah ketololan

Yak, ada sebuah ketololan yang terjadi minggu lalu di PDE assignment g. Bukan, bukan code nya yang salah (phew) kalo code nya yang salah mungkin g sekarang udah bakalan ngepak dan hengkang ke pangkuan ibunda saking malapetaka-nya kalo kudu ngulang coding lagi.

Jadi, code g bener.. terus apa yang salah? G salah nge-plot! To'il kan? Untung ga semua seh. Jadi sekarang g mesti ngulang melarikan (hihi kenapa di inggeris pake verb 'run' ya) simulation g. untungnya sih ga major2 banget tapi TAKE TIME banget, gelo... Jadi kayaknya emang tujuan utamanya adalah melatih kesabaran gue.

Anyway, moral of the story: jangan lupa TIDUR CUKUP. Rupanya memang bener kata orang kalo TIDUR CUKUP ITU WAJIB HUKUMNYA.

strawberries

I just tasted the strawberries I bought in Haymarket yesterday and they are SO GOOD. So big, juicy and sweet despite being carried away for hours in my bag.

And they are so cheap... unbelievable. At least one third of the supermarket's price.

Oh, I almost forgot to say: HAPPY PALM SUNDAY!! Let us enter the Holy Week, the most sacred week of the year, with peace and love...

Covering Almost Half of Boston by Foot

This is the story that I promised last night.

It started on Monday night when I had dinner with my fellow Indonesian friend here at MIT. We did undergrad in the same university at the same time, so we've known each other for years. In addition, both of us speak Jawa Timur-an.

Before we bought our dinner, we had an argument in front of the counter. I said we'ld order 1 10-inch pizza and a salad and share. He said 10-inch pizza is for one person only and that sharing wasn't a good option. 10-inch size is a bit intimidating for me to finish it alone, to tell you the truth. But in the end, we ordered one 10-inch pizza EACH. Hawaiian for me and Dynamic Duo for him. Tandas!! We both finished our portion. OK, so I also finished the 10-inch pizza alone without feeling klempoken (too full). That's another thing I wondered here in the US. Everytime I saw the serving size of any food (esp those with rice) I always wonder "Who on earth can finish that much?" But I've never asked for less rice though *malu kan*. And somehow, I always finished it. Bersih. Licin. Tandas. Emang bener kali ya kata temen-temen SMA g kalo g makannya kayak abang becak.

And NO... my walk is not to lose weight because I ate so much carbohydrate and other junks in the pizza. In fact, the walk was unintentional.

So he asked me "Why don't you travel during this break?"
Me: "I have too many works to do".
He: "But you have to travel one day. I bet you haven't really explored Boston either."
Me: "Hmm..." thinking whether this is considered as exploring around.
He: "Have you gone to Haymarket"
Me: "Hmm well, we passed it by"
He: "Then let's go this Saturday morning."

So we reached Haymarket at around 10 am on a bright Saturday morning. To put the icing on top of the cake, I was so delighted that my Spring Break has eventually come *grin ear to ear*. He is a good cook (Indonesian, Chinese, Western, you name it) so he really went for a purpose (he was going to cook soto ayam and perkedel for a potluck with his lab group-- how nice). On the other hand, I was there only to disrupt, disturb, see see, sniff sniff, taste taste (of course not!) and to have a good time.

Anyway, I also learned some vegetable names hahahaha *gak malu kok*. The vegetables and fruits there look SO FRESH. SO TANTALIZING. The green is very green, the red is very red, the yellow is very yellow and the fish smells really fishy. But according to the experienced cook, the seafood and meat sold there are guaranteed to be very fresh. He bought garlic, carrots, cilantro, green pepper, some fruits where I only got 1 pint of bright, shiny, red, juicy strawberry and two pints of blueberries for my breakfast cereal's toppings. Yummy. And they are so cheap, too. What a good bargain.

After we (he) finished with our (his) shopping, we walked to North End, Little Italy (I don't know whether it's an official name or not). We saw rows and rows of Italian restaurant, pastry shops, gelateria, cafe, etc etc etc. It even smells so nice (especially when you walk near some pastry shops). Afterward, we separated because he needed to start preparing for the food and I had to continue my day off =). I had a lobster roll for lunch at Neptune Oyster. Not so kicking, considering the imbalance between of the food and the price. I think I should order the cold with mayo instead of hot with butter =).

Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market was my next destination. As I've been there before, I didn't really roam around. But something is different now from the previous...

It's S P R I N G!!!

More people were seen outside. People eating ice cream, people not bundled up in blanket =D -- I mean down jacket, people wearing sandals, flip flops, shorts, colorful t-shirts...

Some street performers were showcasing their abilities yesterday. A young boy played drums with buckets that are stacked and arranged strategically. It may look simpler in the photo but a lot comes beneath those buckets to get the music right.

Children were crowding around a baloon-maker clown and they were in awe. Really. Four black guys occupied a large area for "Black Guy Dancing". They even invited people to come in line and learn the steps together. I didn't join them, of course =) Dancing has never been my cup of tea, really.

As I was already there, I thought why don't I follow the red line of Freedom Trail. As I was in the middle of the track, I had two options: go outbound to Bunker Hill Memorial or go inbound to Boston Common. I decided the latter, as it's in the direction of going back =).

I also got myself a pocket of hand roasted cashews. I always love cashews and this one is really gooooood. It's hot and sweet and everything you need when you are walking alone enjoying a bright Saturday afternoon =)

I also stopped by the biggest Borders I've ever seen =). So I walked along following the red line and visited King's Chapel, King's Chapel Burying Ground and Granary Burying Ground where I saw the memorial for Josiah Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's father.

Reaching Boston Common, I walked around the park (and actually was looking for a restroom haha). It was soooooooooo nice. I like it, I love it!! I enjoyed looking at the birds, people carrying anti-war and anti-bombing banner, children running around the now-dry frog pond... Oh it really reminds me of something. That something is a song, and to cut my story short just check the lyrics for Saturday in the Park, (My Girl's soundtrack).

I spent some time to sit down at a bench and read Priestess of the White. Going to Boston Common is not complete without dropping by Cold Stone. Well, I need a rest anyway. A rest with an ice cream sounds perfect, eh?

Next was Public Garden, which is just next to Boston Common. There is nothing much there, but I saw this Boston Police riding a very handsome horse!!! I always like horses since young and even always asked my late dad to buy me one!! It didn't occur to me at all then that they cost so high. Haha I though, even people in Puncak can own horses, why can't we? You know what's his name? SHORTY. What a name. I fell in love with this horse. It's big, defying its own name, sturdy, shiny, clean and doesn't have that horsey snort and smell. It is really a kind of horse that the Famous Five will describe (when it belongs to the protagonist, of course). I touched and patted it *grin grin I was so happy*.

Then, I had another walk... to go back. I walked through Newbury Street. Not a good choice as it will decelerate your walk.. It's Boston's shopping paradise!! People were eating outside in cafes... A clear sign that Spring has come.

What a day. I really enjoyed the walk. My steps were light and delightful and I was happy. For once I forgot everything about my research, assignments and projects... I wish I could spend another day to really follow Freedom Trail and visit the place one by one. And eat the cashews again =) And have lunch at Quincy's food court. Then get some pastries and espresso and gelato at Little Italy (North End). That sounds perfect!! But when can I have the time?

You know what, when I reached my room, I almost believe that all my body parts started disintegrating...