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...

Spring Break

Which part of a break that you like best?
Normally people will say the beginning, when they are hopping on a short trip or getaway, etc.

But for me, it's the end!! Well, only for this Spring Break may be.

As mentioned in the previous post, I had to be away from school for one week. So, after coming back from Jakarta, I had barely enough time to balance out. In other words, almost all my time was used up for studying, doing assignments, doing research, attending seminar, meetings, etc. Almost no time for myself, to rest, to relax, to have a normal sleep.

Within the last one month before Spring Break, I felt very pressurized. I've mentioned before about the notorious 16.930 course so I won't repeat telling the same here. Hmm, not that I don't like the course though. The course is amazing, the professors are great. This course is my best education experience that I've ever had so far. But remembering the days I ran my simulations and debugged the code... hmm no thanks.

Not only I had no enough sleep, normally my sleep was disturbed and not deep so I feel tired almost the whole time. Until...

On Friday before the Spring Break (23 March) in a research meeting I realized that I have lost focus and did discourse. I know what the goal to be achieved but somehow I drifted along the way (luckily not much and not very severe). On that Friday afternoon, I felt like being awaken after a long sleep. Suddenly I could open my eyes and see the flaws in my research work. I felt bad to my advisor (though she can understand me), I was at a mess, I was tired but I don't know what to do. My mind was clouded more with PDE (16.930) rather than my own research which supposedly bear more importance.

I stared at the data, my code, the numbers but couldn't find anything. I simply couldn't think at all.

Then, I did what my mom has suggested few times in the last month: go shopping, get a nice meal and go back and study again. So I walked to Newbury Street, Prudential Center and Copley Square. Not a long getaway as I know what to see/buy and I didn't wander elsewhere. Among the things I bought was Melatonin from GNC. I did need help to get a good night sleep, OK... =D

I went back home and still suffered from a brain dysfunction =( I still forced myself to work though. On Saturday, I worked nonstop until 4 am. On Sunday, I went to morning mass at MIT Chapel but couldn't concentrate well either. I continued working until around 6 pm when I got myself ready to go to Harvard Square. My friend has a free concert ticket (chamber music orchestra) at Sanders Theatre, Harvard Memorial Hall. All my friends urged me to go: to refresh, they said. So off I went.

The concert was marvelous. The concert hall are all in wood! Nonetheless, as it was only instrumental, after some time my mind did wander again. After coming back, I did work a bit but still went to sleep =D as I need to go to Davis Square on Monday morning. Monday was the day I slept only for two hours and remained at a zombie state the next day... =D

On Thursday 2 am I sent a writeup to my advisor. Actually I promised her to submit by end of this week or next week but I was too afraid that I did another blunder that I submit as soon as possible. And... my nerve only loosen when on Thursday night, she replied and said that my work and proposed next steps are good. At that moment, I told my roommate: "I can now officially go out this weekend"

At noon on Friday I officially finished my PDE report so I went to Pepper Sky to have the best Shrimp Pad Thai I've ever tried. I don't usually fancy Thai food but my friend (who is trusted in gourmet related stuffs) recommended this place and I like it! On Friday night, I have finished what I wanted to finish in Spring Break.

So I have two more days for Spring Break that will be (relatively) free. But I had with me:
1. body aches
2. shoulder strain (my roommate told me it must be from typing too much -- I have a bad posture in typing because I tend to look at the monitor as closely as possible)
3. pain and tiredness in my eyes... yesterday my right eye felt almost like exploding

And today... is my REAL SPRING BREAK!!!
I had a wonderful day today... I want to tell you know but I guess it's late and I want to SLEEP!! Tomorrow I have to wake up early for morning mass.

My roommate is asleep now, when she switched off the mainlight she reminded me to sleep and asked "Why do you not like sleeping, not like me?"
Haha I guess she wondered because last week I always slept after she did and already left the room before she woke up.

OK. So I'll sleep now, wait 'til tomorrow for the story, OK?

Splendor in the Grass

February 19 2007 is a day to remember for us.

That is the day when my beloved father went up to heaven,
five minutes to midnight,
on the second day of Chinese New Year,
at 57 years old.

He drew his last breathe, peacefully, in his sleep. On his own bed, by his beloved wife's side, witnessed by his wife and his only son. Painless, as best as it could be.

He is bright, brilliant, kind, funny, humorous, loving, hardworking, and all the superlative words you can attach to a father figure.

I am happy for him, though. At last, he will again meet his beloved mother whom he had lost at a very young age. I know he missed her all his life. I dreamt about her once, long time ago, a dream so vivid that I can't forget.

I flew half the globe to pay him my last respect. I took another long flight in the same week to catch up with my studies. I know he does not like me to take a time off from school. I had HEAPS to catch up so I ignored my blog =)

I attach here a passage from the movie "Splendor in the Grass" (1961). A passage I so love for years, but whose meaning becomes so clear just recently...

What though the radiance
Which was once so bright
Is now forever taken from my sight
Though nothing can bring back the hour,
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find,
Strength in what remains behind...

If this can be considered as a small tribute, click this, but with ammendments =) :

1. change the February to January (find from the text)

2. I have no chance at all to watch American Idol now...

On a lighter note, I am now officially the shortest member of the family...

Final picture: when we had a sauna in our front yard... Haha =D Be prosperous in heaven, Pa.. I think we have burnt enough money for you to build few companies... one for each child, OK? Deal!

I can fall asleep anytime now...

Sumprit gua ngantuk banget.

Pardon my rough start =). I only had two hours of sleep last night, so please harap maklum. Haha jadi inget Buku Penghubung jaman SD dulu. Terkadang isinya sebagai berikut: "Tono/Tini/Tuti sakit dan tidak bisa mengikuti pelajaran. Harap maklum." Masi kepake gak ni bahasa sampe sekarang?

Anyway, after struggling for weeks in coding the Discontinuous Galerkin in MATLAB (refer to my previous post), I've finally come to the less strenuous but still brain-wrenching: report writing. And the length of report is limited to 12 pages! Not a good thing, as you are expected to explain about the codes for higher order time-integration, higher order discretization, higher-order geometry representation AMONG OTHER THINGS. I typed all the matrix and lengthy equations (like, two lines of integral equation?) in small fonts.

To complete the agony, only LaTeX is the acceptable 'standard' in report writing here. The coding (or typesetting, as they put it) is quite OK and you'll become intuitive very soon, BUT... when you missed out one '$', or one '{' or one '}', you'll get error and you have to DEBUG!! Oh please, I think we've got enough DEBUGGING already? This morning I missed one '}' and I got 47 errors at an instant. Depressing. This morning, at 5.30 am, I had to stop working when I had to type the two lines of integral equation. I started enjoying LaTeX-ing though, and started to see its comparative advantages over Microsoft Words.

OK, enough story for now. I wanted to take a nap today but I guess that idea will go to thin air... No wonder my mom insisted me to get some eye cream.

More stories later... hopefully

crazy course

Almost everybody in our lab (Aerospace Computational Design Laboratory) has been the victim of this crazy course called 16.930 (Advanced Topic in Numerical Method for Partial Differential Equation).

Now is my turn.

Its first assignment is extremely EXHAUSTIVE and INTENSIVE.
I've been spending much more time on it than my own research project.

In the problem set given, there is no formulation at all. It's also an open ended question where there may be many approach and even the professors don't know exactly what the result will be like. As my seniors put it, it's like a research of its own. And it has to be done in one month. Tell me about that.

This assignment has successfully robbed me from all weekends and all spare time that I may have or deserve.

The worst part of it is how time consuming it is. To know whether your code is right or not, you need to wait for at least 3 hours. One time I let it run overnight, and I woke up at almost 5 am just to find that my result has blown up to millions from the supposedly 3 and 2.4 in values. Tell me about that.

I am at the Student Center now, because I just had discussion with one of my classmate. I want to wait until 500 iterations before I go back. It is already 1 am here so I guess I'll be back by 2 am. My friend has left as he has morning classes tomorrow.

I did all my coding alone, but you definitely need someone to cross-check your modification with. They are just too much and it will take even longer time if you want to do it alone. Last saturday, I spent hours to debug and right after midnight I just found that I put multiplication (*) instead of division (/) in my MATLAB code. Tell me about that.

And the least you need is a MORAL SUPPORT.

At least if you know that there's another PDE fighter is also working, you'll feel better.

OK, I guess that's all for now. I am extremely worried with my simulation now...

taking a break...

One thing I love about MIT is the library.

Very quiet, loads of books, high ceiling (important to create the mood) and my spot today is just perfect.

There are many libraries in MIT, my favorite being the Hayden Science Library. And yes, especially my spot today. A single desk (not a carrel though just a simple wooden desk), with two wooden chairs and a couch just nearby, overlooking Charles River!! That's the highlight. White snow on the ground, people jogging, dog-walkers, cars, snow-covered Charles River, Boston and the sky that almost never fails to amaze me.

This has certainly made my Chinese New Year's eve sans the reunion dinner more bearable.

The plan to go to a Shanghainese restaurant in town with a couple of friends went into thin air after realizing the tasks I need to finish before Tuesday. We'll have a meeting with our counterpart from Georgia Tech University on Tuesday and our advisor won't be around. Thus it is on my shoulder now to ensure that the meeting will result in juicy fruits.

My tolerance level would not be this lenient if I am in a stuffy, crowded and dingy library.

Other library I like is Rotch (Architecture and Urban Planning). Less grandiose, more minimalist, smaller and quiet also. The only minus point is that being too close to Massachusetts Ave, sometimes the sirene (police, ambulance, fire) is just too loud. But the location is pretty good actually, you just go down one level and you're already in Main Lobby. Practical when you stay late.

The library in my department (Aeronautics/Astronautics), on the other and, is very small and rather hot. It also overlooks Mass Ave so the sirene problem also happens here. This library really comes in handy when: 1) I'm lazy to walk (nearest to my lab), 2) I need any aero/astro specific materials and 3) when I just get bored/too sleepy in lab.

Anyway, highlights of the previous week:
1) I just went back from a short retreat in Bethel, Maine and it was just awesome!
2) I have started my acrylic painting class every Thursday and it is so much fun!!
more about them later...

And the lowlights:
1) I got a patellar tendonitis on my right knee without knowing the exact reason. It may be due to carrying too heavy a backpack (laptop, folders, notes, textbooks) and climb up and down the staircase too often or a hidden injury when I ski-ed last Saturday. In any case, I am avoiding staircase as much as I can now.. I did an X-ray and there's no rapture *phew* though it still needs weeks to fully recover.
2) Ugly snow on Wednesday, 14 February 2007. Incessant pouring: snow, heavy rain, drizzle for the WHOLE DAY!!. And they have made such an inclement weather, filthy road, many road accidents and extremely slippery ground with the ice (not only snow). Yesterday when I went for a meeting in Volpe US Transportation Center, the front ground was practically an ice skating rink. You have to walk like a duck to keep save and firm on your two feet. Thanks God for Timberland.

I guess now I have to get back to work *sigh*.

keliling kota

Setelah berminggu-minggu di sini, baru hari ini ngomong Indo seharian. Biasanya cuma sebatas ngobrol di telpon aja sama mama dan orang-yang-dekat-di-hati.

Jadi gini ceritanya. Kapan itu entah gimana caranya g ada nyebut di salah satu mailing list *tau gak milis yang mana* kalo g tinggal di sini. Entah g lagi nanya something atau ada yang nanya lupa deh. Intinya, ada yang bales lewat japri dan berlanjut jadi ngobrol-ngobrol dan ngocol-ngocol di e-mail. Tepatnya, g ada korespondensi dengan 2 orang alumni Sanur yang tinggal di sini/daerah sini.

Mereka angkatan 94 sih jadi g ga kenal sama sekali sebenernya. Dan entah gimana caranya lagi, g ngajak mereka untuk ketemuan hari ini di Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall. Dan ternyata dua-duanya bisa tuh. Akhirnya jadilah hari ini kita kopidarat.

Jam 11 g ketemu sama si E, dia tinggal di Rhode Islands sebenernya, 1 hour bus drive to Boston. Ngider-ngider di Quincy Market sampe jam 1.30 pm, waktu preman Boston G dateng dan gabung sama kita. Prime rib was the lime light huehuehueheuhueheu =D
Dan sebelumnya g sempet 'shopping' di Godiva lho heuhauheuhauheuhua *syedap* buat siapa lagi kalo bukan untuk diri sendiri (dan bagi-bagi ke rumet tentunya). BUKAN hadiah/dalam rangka Valentine lho sodara-sodara. Give me a break, I am a big non-believer in Valentine's day. Cuma g lagi rada stress mikirin project g dan juga course (one of most killer course here) yang bakal g ambil and starts next week. Aneh ya, itu kan pilihan g sendiri tapi kenapa juga g tetep stress (banget). Soalnya g pernah bilang ke diri g sendiri, g ga akan berasa di-ordained jadi murid MIT kalo g belum conquer tuh subject. So doakan daku yah sodara-sodara.
Jadi karena g stress dan kemarin sempet uring-uringan sendiri (rumet lagi di NY) dan ga bisa tidur berhari2 mikirin minggu depan pas kelas dah mulai, so g pun memutuskan untuk belanja di Godiva huehuehaihaiuheuiheuhihehiahiuehuii =D =D =D *alesan*

Abis itu keliling kota deh walau bukan pake delman. Si preman Boston G nyetirin kita dan dia berhasil nunjukkin hampir (banget) seluruh penjuru Boston ke kita. Gedung di sini bagus-bagus lho, bener deh. Gerejanya banyaaaaakkk buanget. Bener-bener pemandangan yang syedap dipandang mata.

Perjalanan keliling kota pun ditutup dengan makan pempek dan batagor dengan rasa sangat orisinal *terbukti dengan g sempet berasa kepedesan banget*. Dibuat oleh tangan orang Palembang asli, jadilah ia pempek yang nendang banget. Singapore punya sih kalah. Batagor nya juga uenak tenan.

Selama ini g suka bingung, mau ke sini ke sana cari info di mana. Ternyata, tinggal masuk yahoo terus kirim e-mail ke mailing list tersebut, beres deh. Jadilah g dipinjemin celana ski (g baru mau beli kalo g tinggal di sini lebih dari setaon dan kalo g memutuskan untuk ber-ski tentu saja), dianterin keliling kota, ditunjukkin makanan-makanan syedap (indo, thai, italian, pastry, american, puff, brazilian, afghani, middle eastern, hongkong etc) sampe dikasi tau jadwal misa indo segala dan dikasi tau juga kalo di MIT ada beberapa orang indo yang exist *abisnya selama ini g satu aja belum nemu*.

Ngomong-ngomong soal orang Indo di MIT, di sini ada group musik yang terkenal namanya Gamelan Galaktika. Ini tuh salah satu extracurricular gitu di MIT sini, maen gamelan bali tapi hampir ga ada loh orang indo/asia nya!!! Bule aja melulu. Tapi kalibernya lumayan, buktinya udah sampe ada performance di BALI!!! BALI LOH!! Bule-bule tersebut nunjukkin kelihaiannya main gamelan bali di bali.... sounds cool.

Balik lagi ke cerita keliling kota, ya abis itu si temen kita itu pun nganterin kita ke terminal dan ke dorm *ini g* jam 6an... and that was the end of our sisterly gathering for today!

Sunday Stroll

Our epicurean souls have brought us to a pleasant Sunday stroll yesterday. Shown in the picture is our shadows (plus one biker) on the snow-covered Charles River while crossing Harvard bridge. The weather was genuinely nice, unlike last week. It was pretty warm, though it's only 36F or 2-3C. When I crossed the bridge yesterday (was in dire need to get Kiehl's body creme) I've found the weather nice and the stroll pleasant. Turned out that it was -4C. Guess my body has acclimated well with Boston. Talking about the weather, Friday was the worst, -16 to -17C. PLUS the strong wind. It was ICY cold, even your eyes suffered. It was even cold inside the building.

So, these limited-budget-self-professed-epicures have decided to spare few hours and some bucks to venture out to dining places, cafes, ice cream parlors and restaurants. Steve's Greek Restaurant was our choice yesterday. Turned out that lunch is only served on 12.45 pm where we've got a nice table at noon. Thus we ordered this home-fried potatoes from breakfast menu and some coffees. They tasted soooo good. I am a potato lover, you see? So I was grinning ear to ear after the first bite.


The soup was unique and nice. I didn't put the picture here though, as you can't see anything from the picture. Too bad I completely forgot the long and unfamiliar name. It was like avgo-something. It has rice, chicken and lemon juice with creamy texture. Served with a small packet of oyster crackers which are not too special in my opinion. The Greek salad, which comes as a compliment for main dish, is also satisfying. The whitish crumbles on top are fetta cheese. I found the tomatoes here are very fresh, sweet and juicy. But when you see the price you'll understand.

Too bad I still can't post the picture for the main dish (Gyros Plate). Haha honestly my first impression of the word 'gyro' is Inul. Why? It sounds so similar to 'gyration', her signature dancing or rather movements.

And I did finished everything. The shared-potatoes (but I ate quite a lot), the soup, the salad, the grilled lamb and french fries. And I still felt like smacking my fingers. It felt sooo good. Understandable that I could only eat one orange and two peanut-butter biscuits for dinner.

PS: photos are taken by Canon A640. I know it's not the best but oh I so love this camera!!

finally....

It *really* snows today. I mean, there have been flurries for days, but not until piling up. It has been snowing for hours now, it's all white outside, but it's too dark I can't take any picture.

Hopefully we'll get chances to build a snowman.

OK, that's all. Holiday is over (for me) and reality has taken its course once again.
Busy busy busy...

Shop 'til you drop

Stepping out from Green Hall... Those whitish things are ice crystals, though if you really take a closer look at it it's pinkish. Weather forecast predicted that today will be very windy and cold but we still decided to go anyway. 'We' here refers to myself, my roommate, and another classmate (a guy who likes shopping)




Along Harvard bridge we walked, braving ourselves againts the strong wind (yep it was strong but hang on.. It's just the beginning!!!). Do feel special, these photos are taken just for you, people close to our hearts, despite the freezing hands, face and ears. The sky was bright blue at one side and greyish cloudy at the other side. The hand. Was. So. Damn. Frozen. NUMB with capital N, U, M and B.


We're finally reaching Boston!! This imposing church is the first thing we saw. There was a bit of snow, but rather insignificant. It was sooo beautiful. And other good news, the strong wind was somewhat blocked by buildings. But it was still really cold and I was still freezing...

In this photo, you should actually be able to see the flurries... small dots of white. Hehehe I can't blame you if you can't see it. Too bad the actual file size is impossible to show here. It was the junction between Massachusetts Ave and Newbury Street (yep, our destination!!). Can hardly wait to start our window shopping session, though it was still too early... around 10 am (either too excited or too kiasu).


So this is how the shopping place looks like. The shops are located inside those red-brick houses. The first search was on Kiehl's. We are in a desperate need to get some of the stuffs there. My hand dries 'til they crack and were so painful. Red, ugly and blistered. Luckily my face and body were OK. Anyway, Kiehl's is known for their natural and non-chemical products. Hence our shopping lists extended beyond the hand cream.

Found this small and yet pretty Italian supermarket (Deluca's Market). The freshness of fruits and flowers are really enticing. Liked the bright colors. If I am still actively painting I would immediately prop my canvas on my easel...

Too bad.



We're extremely hungry at lunch time. Went to Ciao Bella, for a nice Italian luncheon. Don't worry, not everytime we'll have good meal.. It's just that the school hasn't really started so we might as well enjoy life while we still can... This frothing cappucino was divine, as well as the portobello salad, italian bread and pasta that we had. Sorry, no pictures here. Afraid you all will be green with envy.

Then we continue and continue and continue to do our window shopping. We walked 'til the end of Newbury St then walked back on the other side (Boylston St) which is also a shopping paradise. Went inside to Boston Public Library, but alas, no time to browse through. Used the restroom then off we went again haha. I shopped at Lindt Chocolatier, left the shop with a bag of extra dark chocolate. Went to Prudential Center (yep, shopping center) and Copley Square (yep, another shopping center) where my roommate and the other guy bought something from Godiva chocolatier. Hmm hmm hmm so my roommate and I can now enjoy our precious treasure togeher *grin grin*.

The wind was getting stronger, temperature lower, so we decided to go back at around 5 pm. We don't want to be blown out while crossing Harvard Bridge back. Trust me, the wind was that strong... What's our dinner? Godiva and Lindt. Oh please don't faint =). The wind is really really strong now that we can hear it from inside. It's cold inside though with two partially functioning heaters and one fully functioning but small heater. But we're lucky not to be trapped in the wind. And my hands are MUCH better now, thanks to Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. Only the redness and blister marks remain, the pain has gone. Viva Kiehl's!!

PS: Who shopped the most? The guy. So who say girls are crazy about shopping? =D

A Novel Way to Eat Haagen Dazs Ice Cream

Dessert can be the most awaited part of any meals. Especially if it is a pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream - to be shared to seven desperate people.

But problems come when you have no spoon to scoop. Even worse when the ice cream is frigidly cold and stone hard, though is as tantalizing as ever, still.

So here are the steps you can follow:

1. Take out the pint from freezer

2. Open the lid

3. Take a butcher knife and a wooden chopping board (iya, beneran pake GOLOK!!!)

4. knock hard to break the stone oops ice cream into two. Follow the vertical axis of the pint

5. keep on knocking...

6. yes, still knocking... change the way you do it if it does not resemble a carpenter axing a log (that's the correct way and the coolest style)

7. I know your board and table start shaking and neighbors may start peeping in. But stay determined. Do it.

8. Now it's split into two. Further chop, depending on how many persons you want to share it with

9. You will get something like this:



(see, I was not lying with the GOLOK part)

10. Put each block in a plastic cup

11. You can use a chopstick and make it like candybar (if your ice cream's really hard, you can do it - one of us did). You can use one, two or null chopsticks. The choice is yours. Seven of us had different styles of doing and we were all enjoying it.

If you don't mind watching an inverted video, you can check this out. Let me know if you can't watch it.

Silakan mencoba...

Chilly Sunday

Today was started by my reluctance to wake up. It felt really nice and warm suggling under the blanket. Looking at the misty climate out there from the wide window, feeling the breeze seeping through the window pane.

But I woke up anyway. After some struggling minutes. Kick the blanket - snuggle - kick again - snuggle again - fold - snuggle - kick myself hard enough to finally fold the blanket and get down from my bed. Stepping into the warm and comfortable navy room slippers.

I attended the mass at MIT Chapel at 9.30. A very small Catholic community there (only six choir members, for example), or perhaps because the Spring term hasn't really started. The chapel is really small, but very nice. It's circular in shape, that some of my friends thought it was just a chimney in the middle of not-so-big grassland. Anyway, the interior feels very... holy. I immediately felt warm and 'at home' at an instance, somehow. I like the altar. It's also circular and has some glass-like decorations hanging behind.

Then I went back and read some book until around 2 pm.

Then my roommate and I braved the chilly winter (plus wind plus light rain) to visit the MIT Museum. Today was rather cold that it benumbs our hands. Even with the gloves, my finger tips froze. Taking our ID card and swipe it on the door really gave us a hard time.

The picture above is one of many taken in the museum. Yes, photography is allowed inside. Lucky I only come to MIT during this era. In late 1800's and early 1900's they studied Physics like MAD.

We saw some of MIT histories and now it gained most of my respect of becoming one of the world's largest and best technology center *lift hat*. It's really a result of hardwork and pure determination. Only some people (or, prodigies) can bring a school up to what it has achieved now *applause*. I still wonder what actually has brought me here and what will I bring back home at the end of my study here.

orang yang nyebelin

Tulisan ini dibuat dalam bahasa Indonesia bukan tanpa alasan. Gak enak aja kalo orang yang bersangkutan tiba-tiba nyasar ke sini dan mendongkol.

Terkadang memang ada orang yang menyebalkan. Mungkin tidak selamanya dia menyebalkan, tapi ada kalanya kita rasanya pengen membungkam tuh mulut pake plakban dan bilang 'istirahat, grak!!'

Tau orang-orang jenis apa yang gua ga gitu suka?
orang yang merasa dirinya pinter
orang yang merasa dirinya cakep
orang yang merasa dirinya hebat (jadi inget lagunya Sherina)
orang yang merasa dirinya selalu menjadi pusat perhatian

Walaupun orang itu beneran pinter, cakep, hebat.. rasa-rasanya nilainya bakalan turun beberapa point kalo dia merasa dirinya [...]. Karena menurut gua, orang hebat itu sudah layak dan sepantasnya terlihat hebat tanpa ada 'usaha' dari dia sendiri (maksudnya membual-bualkan kehebatannya gitu). Orang hebat akan terlihat hebat dengan sendirinya dari apa yang dia perbuat dan apa yang dia katakan. Bukan begitu?

Sebagai contoh konkret, di Singapore kita ada 2 professors. Rasa-rasanya sih dua-duanya sama-sama hebat. Sama-sama masih muda, lulusan MIT dan scholars.

Tapi bedanya, si M tuh suka mengintimidasi kita secara langsung, seperti ini: "Di bidang ini, saya berada di barisan riset terdepan. Kalau ada pertanyaan, saya lah orang yang paling tepat untuk ditanya". "Kamu harus bekerja keras seperti saya. Saya tidur 3-4 jam saja setiap harinya." Dkk dll dsb.

Doh.. emang siapa yang pikirin. Lu mau gak tidur juga ga ada untung ruginya di gua.

Nah sementara yang satu lagi, sebut aja si C. Dia tuh ga pernah pamer apa-apa tapi kalo dia ngomong/ngajar, kita-kita yang awam banget ni akan berasa bego dan minder banget. Dia terlihat super pandai karena tindakan dan perkataan dan 'bukti-bukti' yang sudah memang ada. Dari publications, papers bahkan teori-teori yang sudah dia terbitkan.

Nah, ada juga lho orang yang gak suka dan seriiing banget komplen kalo ada orang yang arogan (dia juga komplen soal si M itu), padahal tau gak sih sodara-sodara, menurut kita dia tuh juga arogan...

Duh gimana donk ngadepin orang yang kayak gitu. Kadang dia komplen-komplen tentang orang lain padahal sebenernya dia sendiri juga melakukan.

Kalo pergi sama dia rasanya gua pengen bawa kaos kaki atau plakban extra untuk nyumpel mulutnya. Dia tuh cowok lho, tapi kok ya bawelnya dobel-tripel-tetris nya gua. Padahal menurut beberapa orang kebawelan gua aja udah sering bikin orang mau pingsan (apalagi kalo gua abis makan pete).

Kadang dia terlalu antusias sampe gua sebel. Kalo dia tau sesuatu, dia akan menjelaskan berulang-ulang kesannya kita bego banget. Padahal, yeee... gua juga udah tau dari dulu. Kalo gua udah bilang gua udah tau pun, dia akan tetep menjelaskan seolah-olah gua ga tau apa-apa. Doh, ngapain sih lu ngomong berbusa-busa gitu kalo ga ada gunanya?

Terus dia juga selalu ngerasa kalo habitnya dia tuh yang paling bener dan orang-orang lain salah. Dan kalo dia pake handphone provider tertentu misalnya, dia akan berkoar-koar kalo itu yang terbaik dan yang lain dicela-cela abis-abisan.

Intinya, orangnya tuh subjective sekali. Kurang bisa objective. Kadang gua berusaha mengelus dada berusaha sabar karena dia emang lebih muda 2 taun dari gua, anak tunggal dari keluarga yang sangat berkecukupan. Mohon dicatat kalau gua tidak ber-prejudice terhadap anak-anak tunggal di sini, karena temen-temen gua yang lain yang sama-sama anak tunggal pun tidak mengalami ke-subjectif-an dan ke-egosentris-an yang sama. Cuma mungkin spesies yang satu ini adalah spesies yang cukup dimanja.

Kadang kalo makan sama dia tuh gua suka berusaha kabur. Kenapa tau gak? Bisa jenggotan nungguin dia makan. Makannya lamaaaaa, berantakan (pake 1 garpu doank ga pake sendok padahal tangan satu lagi nganggur) dan sepanjang ngunyah dia ngoceh melulu, komplen dari A sampe Z.

Sebenernya kita berdua ni termasuk kawan bermain yang cukup dekat. Ya sedeket-deketnya temen sekelas lah. Maklum cuma 11 orang sekelas, jadi ga heran kalo ada subgroup-subgroup kecil. Kadang sih OK main sama dia, cuma kalo lagi kumat biasanya semangat mencuekki gua tiba-tiba membara dengan nistanya.

Sebenernya sih emang ga bisa diapa-apain, since orang tuh juga emang beraneka ragam yang menduduki dunia ini. Ga salah juga kalo kita berteman dengan orang-orang yang rada 'salah asuhan' dan udah ga bisa diapa-apain karena dia udah gede. Gua sendiri juga jauh dari sempurna, pasti banyak orang yang dendam kesumat sama gua, apalagi katanya lidah gua bisa pedes banget menyayat-nyayat kalau anda berbicara dengan daku di saat yang tidak tepat.

Cuma yang gua rada ga tahan, dia tuh suka komplen terhadap orang tentang hal-hal yang dia sendiri juga melakukan. Mbok ya ngaca toh mas.

Ini sekedar curhat.
Jadi tolong jangan dihojat.
Biarkan saja keluar tanpa tersumbat.
Tanpa terpotong seperti tersunat.
Semoga aja gua gak kuwalat.

The Hacker

One thing that I found interesting from MIT is the hackers. It's just a cut above the rests and I've never known before that a prank can be 'legalized' and even acknowledged. I am compelled to say that those they've done are intellectual pranks, with no intentions to humiliate nor abuse others. Some are even very well structured, carefully planned and meticulously carried out. I really wish there will be some hacks while I am around.

The sky is blue in Massachusetts

This photo was naturally taken, by the way. I used 'Auto' in my Canon A640. Couldn't use 'Manual' as my hands got frozen before I could really set it up. So, when I said it's blue it's REALLY blue.

My camera is actually always with me but I seldom use it. It's too cold for bare hands and it's to cumbersome with gloves =). So wait until spring, OK?

On clear days, the sky is really blue, close to Balinese sky. I like it. Here in Cambridge, no skyscrapper building can be found. What a change from the usual Singapore and Jakarta view.

Some things are different in winter though. You can't just wear flip flops outside the house!! Sometimes it's very annoying as you need to put the complete gears before heading out from the house.

These days were filled by reading up papers and documentations =(. My professor is still travelling around Atlanta and California. The system is currently down so I can't really do anything. So it's only reading, reading and reading so far.

I don't know why but I feel my English is rather deteriorating now. I wonder how I can pick it up again?

MIT is Cool...

No snow so far, to bad... :(

I am currently staying in Green Hall female dormitory, and I'll recommend an all-female dorm to all girls (cleanliness, for example... no offense to the guys hehehe).

It's a good thing that I didn't experience any jetlags upon arrival in Logan International Airport, Boston. Had a bad flu just one day before my departure, I can't say that the 24-hour trip was a blast. Be warned if you're taking United Airlines Economy class, the leg room is just not enough. Especially when you have long legs. It wasn't a time you want to repeat twice. The service was quite OK though.

Had few turbulences around Japan. One was quite severe where the captain forbode any kind of activities (inclusive of all flights attendants) of a whole 45 minutes. I quite enjoyed it actually, it was just like a free roller coaster ride hahahaa... Surprisingly, in all turbulences, no crying babies and children and (sorry) puking people. I can confess that I heard and excited shriek from a small toddler. For 45 minutes, you are tossed from your seat where you have few milliseconds 'floating'.

The 11-hour flight from Tokyo-Chicago was daaaaammnnn long and tiring. Everytime I open my eyes I always hoped that we're arriving soon, but the fact is often more bitter than the hope. I was dying for a good massage. Good strong massage, the one that can make all your joints crack *nyam*.

Blame my flu, one nice stewardess regarded me as "a girl who always asks for a boiling water". I actually went as far as fetching the water myself in the airplane's kitchen. Damn the flu. So what did I pay for flu jab for? Or they are now actively combining H and N viruses to create a new spesies, or modifying the existing into mutants... that WHO has not recognized. Or they are now concocting a new vaccin. Oh, well.

I got a high fever during the flight from Chicago-Boston. Perhaps, it actually thanks to my flu that I didn't have any jetlag symptoms: I took too many flu medication.

On the next day (Sunday), I had an unbearable headache during our shopping in Target. But somehow still managed to do more shopping later on the day around Downtown.

Hmm, you know the problem of being an MIT student?

People always think we're super smart.

It gives certain advantages, of course. Like during visa application. Show a letter from MIT and a officer's signature is right there on your application form. When the custom officer saw you're a student in MIT, the process got smoother.

But honestly, I don't think I am super-smart as what those people like to say. Mind you, they always use superlative words to explain any academia adjectives somehow.

MIT has a lot of super smart people, that's true. You know what, it even has a 14-year old kid who had started his PhD.

But most of the times, I squirmed when people said "oh you must be super smart". Halaaaahhh... The point is, when you come to MIT you start from ground zero again. One of my lecturer back in undergrad likes to say: "A winner is only judged from his/her last performance". So even if you're the grand champion of a "Cerdas Cermat Tingkat Kelurahan" once before, in MIT you need to forget about it and just see how far you can climb up.

I think I will just enjoy my time here, especially during this winter period. If by any chance I can perform well, ameeeeenn... I'ld just take it as a bonus.

lika liku liburan

Sesekali, liburan sangat perlu untuk diselipkan dalam kehidupan kita. Jika anda masih mempunyai kesempatan untuk menghabiskan beberapa hari dalam setahun untuk benar-benar relax dan bermalas-malasan, nikmatilah. Milikilah. Jangan lewatkan.

Waktu stress sekolah, apalagi yang dipikirkan kecuali bermalas-malasan di kamar sendiri, di rumah. Entah kenapa, rasa-rasanya posisi dan lokasi tidur terbaik gua adalah di kamar yang di Jakarta. Gede pula, queen size sendirian. So biasanya separo untuk body, separonya lagi untuk buku-buku koleksi masa kecil dan remaja yang sukaaaa banget dibaca berulang-ulang. Biasanya sih Enid Blyton punya. Ada masa-masanya novel-novel Marga T. Tapi yang kemarin, Girl Talk. Pada tau gak? Bacaan ABG jaman awal 90an banget. Sehari bisa abis beberapa buku.

Kalo di tempat lain gua irit tidur, di kamar sendiri bisa lebih kebo. Kalo di sini tidur 8 jam aja udah sakit kepala, kalo di sana bisa masih kurang hehehe =D. Mama yang super disiplin kalo soal bangun tidur pun maklum dan dibiarin aja kalo pagi-pagi belum nongol di meja makan dalam kondisi bersih dan wangi. Padahal, jaman SMU dulu, tiap pagi suka dipatroli (walau libur!!). Soalnya mama suka kirim SMS gini kalo lagi jauhan "Jangan lupa tidur" hihi jadi kalo di Jakarta bisa sampe tuwuk (puas).

Ngomong-ngomong soal liburan, liburan yang December kemarin ini (22 Dec - 2 Jan) sih lumayan sibuk. Mobilisasi cukup tinggi. LIburan total cuma beberapa hari pertama aja. Tanggal 26 Dec aja udah bikin PR. Haizz..

Hmm awal-awal ngapain aja ya? Ingetnya makan seafood beberapa kali hehehe =D. Pas hari Natal, kudu bangun pagi-pagi (jam 5 pagi) dan berangkat ke Canisius untuk ikut misa jam 8 pagi (yang kita kira jam 7.30 pagi dan takut macet/rame jadi kiasu jam 6 lewat udah berangkat hihihi). Pake dua mobil pula. Hmm bisa-bisanya yah jalan beriringan dari Cengkareng - Menteng. Soalnya supir yang satu ga apal jalan di Jakarta sih. Supir import kali... Kenapa pake dua mobil padahal cuma bertiga? Karena abis itu ada acara sendiri-sendiri. Kenapa ke Canisius? Ehm, soalnya ada yang konser tuh... yang ternyata adalah kumpulan almamater sendiri alias koor alumni Canisius-Santa Ursula. Sejak kapan tuh kebentuknya yah? Jaman gua ga pernah ada tuh.

Tanggal 26, mulai membulatkan tekad untuk menyelesaikan sebuah PR dari si professorwati. Selesainya sih cepet, tapi ngirim ke dia nya itu yang dramatis. Jadi gini. Dulu, pas belajar "Communication Skills" di second year of university, tutor kita nekenin kalo untuk dapet report/write up yang bagus, kudu dicek dan diedit lagi. Tapi, untuk hasil maksimal, antara first review and second review tuh ga boleh langsung alias butuh jeda.

Tanggal 26 itu, gua selesai jam 4 pm. Langsung bobo bentar (hmm udah ga biasa liat computer dan baca notes segabruk-gabruk kali ya jadi ngantuk). Terus malemnya ke Senayan City diajak sodara. Malemnya lagi pulang ke rumah (ya iyalah masa pulang ke rumah orang laen). As usual, tiap pagi dan malem tuh gua habiskan dengan ngobrol ngalor ngidul sama ortu. Kalo gua pulang malem, mereka akan tidur sebelum gua balik. Hebatnya, tiap gua pulang mereka pasti otomatis bangun dan langsung 'on'. Abis gua mandi, kita bakalan ngobrol about everything sampe jam 1an atau sampe gua ketiduran. Kadang ga cuma bertiga tapi berempat sama adik gua yang kalo jaman liburan pulangnya selalu sekitar midnight (kayak Cinderella banget yah, eh ini adik yang cowok lho).

Nah besokan paginya, gua udah siap di depan computer dengan thumbdrive (soalnya gua kerjain di laptop dan ga ada wireless) setelah nge review dan edit tuh write-up. Eh ga bisa-bisa lho buka internetnya. Sampe lamaaaa banget. Kayaknya thumbdrive gua juga udah sempet beranak-pinak. Gua udah kesel aja, ini internet bayarnya ga nunggak tapi kok bisa ga reliable gini.

Akhirnya malemnya pas kebetulan g ada di rumah seseorang, gua numpang aja nginternet (soale kirain cuma yang di rumah aja yang error). Eh ga bisa juga lho... Terdengar khabar burung kalo gara-gara gempa di Taiwan, jaringan internet terganggu dan seluruh negara di Asia Pacific kena imbasnya. Ini cuma gossip sih, mungkin ga separah itu. Terus gua SMS aja kakak gua yang masih di Singapore, dia bilang emang tersendat-sendat sih dan ga bisa load file.

Jueeehh, ga bisa ngapa-ngapain donk. Bokap gua malah usul gua SMS si professorwati tersebut. Weleeeh gua mana tau HP-nya. Lagian entah dia lagi di New Zealand apa US sekarang. Yah akhirnya baru keesokkan harinya tuh file kekirim. Penuh perjuangan tuh. Thumbdrive di bawa ke mana-mana dan pernah sekali pas lagi lewat hotel gua nanya aja loh sama resepsionis nya lagi ada internet apa nggak (read: mau numpang).

Baru hari ini gua cek e-mail dari si professorwati. Untunglah PR gua lulus sensor dengan baik. Phew.

Besok-besokannya, cukup sibuk wara-wiri mengurus sesuatu yang emang mesti diurus. Tentang apa? Halah ga penting lah ntar juga tau sendiri. Tapi jangan berspekulasi di sini yah haha.

Tanggal 31, pas orang-orang lain rencana ke jalanan sini atau party sana, gua malah kekeuh ga mau ke mana-mana. Pergi dinner pun ga mau. Pokoknya ga mau ninggalin rumah deh. Alasannya banyak. Selain capek, percaya atau nggak gua udah bosen sama makanan Indo. Or Chinese food. Karena selama di Indo ya makannya tuh either Indo food ya Chinese food. At one time, gua malah kekeuh ga mau makan nasi/noodle. Maunya French Fries. Akhirnya gua makan di AW dengan biadabnya. Ih padahal AW doank. Iya, emang rasa nasionalisme gua terhadap makanan Indo rada rendah. Atau lebih tepatnya, makin lama makin surut. Mohon maap buat yang fanatik sama makanan Indo yah. Apalagi gua anti seribu anti sama yang namanya pedes walau cuma setitik. Cabe-nya Indomie aja bikin gua merem melek.

Tanggal 1, gua mulai bangun dengan perasaan gundah gulana. I haven't done a reading. Aduh panik. Takut ntar udah nyampe kampus ga sempet ngebaca. Huh dasar sekolah biadab. Jadi tanggal 1 itu sodara-sodaraku terkasih, gua malah bangun jam 6 pagi dan duduk dengan manisnya di hadapan files dan buku catatan gua (deeuuu SD banget). Berhasil belajar sampe siang, tapi terus jalan-jalan ke Plaza Senayan sama temen yang mirip banget sama Agnes Monica. Bahkan dia pernah ditanya supir taxi lho, kayaknya mau diajak foto bareng hahaha. Bagi para penghuni kota Jakarta, kalo ke Cafe Wien cobain Caesar Saladnya deh. Sumprit that's the best I can find so far... I badly missed salad by then and never regretted of what I ordered. Terus makan di Bakerzinn (bener ga sih nulisnya). Gembul pisan. Mana gua tau Banana Pizza porsinya segede gitu (untuk snack). Malemnya makan Kwetiau Akang di Muara Karang. Terus beli martabak duren di sebelahnya.

Besok nya udah ngerasa gloomy. Soalnya tanggal 2 malem (kemaren) gua terbang ke Singapore. Pagi-pagi masih sempet belajar dikit tapi siang-siang nyerah. Berasa rugi ga sih kalo belajar pas liburan?

Airport Soekarno-Hatta dan Changi kebanjiran orang saat itu. Kebetulan gua satu pesawat sama beberapa teman. Malah kecipratan beberapa gossip gress. Busyet.

Lucunya, pas kapan itu kita rencana mau ngumpul-ngumpul anak CHARIC. Tapi ga bisa soalnya waktu gua di Singapore cuma 3 hari doank dan masi banyak urusan. Eh kemaren di airport gua udah ketemu 2 dari 6 anggota CHARIC tanpa disengaja. Lumayan. Ga tau CHARIC apa? Duluuuu pernah diulas (deeuuu) tapi lupa di bulan berapa, kayaknya Maret/April/May 2006 gitu deh.

Di Changi, itu bagian arrivalnya dipenuhi oleh orang-orang yang... antri taxi!! Sampe uler-uleran, no kidding. Hampir 1 jam ngantri taxi doank. Byuh byuh byuh.

Gua pamit dulu yah. Dadaaaahhh... Kapan-kapan lanjut lagi.