overwhelmed

I am currently overwhelmed with the amount of works that I need to do in this Summer. It's an open secret that students under the same Fellowship as mine must work twice as hard as other MIT regular students.

We have to finish a research project in half the time that others do -- with no compromize in the expected quality whatsoever.

I am myself curious how will I handle this. We'll see.

I have weekend travel plans, too, which make my weekday schedules are even crazier (especially for a term break standard). Also, at the same time, all research/lab groups that I am involved in plan all sorts of BBQ/parties/reception etc...

Heaven helps!!

missing it terribly

Yesterday I sorted out some of my older files -- then I came across this JPEG file. It made me realize that I MISS PAINTING TERRIBLY.

I painted the Seagulls (from a photo I took in Gold Coast, Australia) early last year (2006) -- but now it feels like centuries ago. I used Daler-Rowney oil paints on a 40 cm x 60 cm Talons canvas (a really really good canvas).

Now, I have to literally gather my souls back to continue with my research =). Wish me luck, friends...

sleepy forever

Why do I always feel sleepy this week?
Starting from Monday, and it is Wednesday already.

Is it because my adrenaline is pumping no more?

best i've ever had

I know that I have been complaining a lot about studying at MIT.

But let me tell you this, sincerely, that this year is the best I've ever had. All the torture is paid off by what you got -- the educational experience (incomparable), the teachers (simply the best), the FRIENDS (amazing). And, yes, I love Boston too though the weather sometimes is terrible.

So, last wednesday (16 May) was the day of our final presentation for Advanced PDE class. I must say it was a success. We've had a great fun in doing the group project together. I know some people often complain about working in a group because at times, they are more troublesome than helpful (well, I did face such situations). Nonetheless, our group is very good with all different background and strength, we can split the job pretty fairly and everybody is happy.

Yesterday (Saturday) we celebrated the end of the term with a party. There are only 9 students in the Advanced PDE class and everybody was present yesterday plus some of our friends. We had a GREAT GREAT FUN yesterday -- good companionship, food and games.

One remarkable thing about MIT is how international it is. I will list everybody who fill the fun yesterday:
me -- Indonesia
Sonja -- Austria
Louis -- Chile
Nick -- Ohio
Sohan -- Srilanka
Anshul -- Northern India
Emily -- Philadelphia
Josh -- Iowa
Alejandra -- Mexico
Leonardo -- Italian but grew up in France and speak English, German, Italian, French, Japanese fluently, a physicist to be (and he was the one who prepared the mouth-watering lasagne yesterday)
David -- Spain
Zhengyi -- Singapore
Ganesh -- Southern India
Peter -- Australia

So we almost cover the globe =)

The food:
tortilla chips, potato chips, hummus, buffalo wings, cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, meat and vegetarian lasagne (courtesy of Leo), green salad, strawberry cheesecake, Toscanini's ice cream (burnt hydrox, fudge kulfee, dark chocolate) -- world's best ice cream -- this was, of course, from me (who can't live without ice cream), wine, soda, lemonade, orange juice... simply awesome.

The game:
Werewolf -- it's very similar to mafia. It was so much FUN -- it's really fun to deceive, accuse and kill people hahahaha =D and everybody has different tactic... We played until we got too tired.

Afterwards, some of us still went to one piano room where somebody plays the piano and I sang "What a Wonderful World" -- because our finals are oveeeeeeeerrrrr!!

Well, we still have piles of research to do but that can wait 'til... tomorrow =(.

Friends, you rock!!!

ps: I still have lots of stories to tell but have to do laundry now. Ciao!!

ku tak percaya ini terjadi

Aku gak bakalan cerita panjang lebar sekarang, karena:
1) kalo diceritain bisa jadi novel sendiri (panjang!)
2) aku ada banyak PR buat besok dan Kamis (cape dee...)

Apa yang mau diceritain?

Tak lain dan tak bukan adalah kesialan-kesialan yang kualami selama seminggu terakhir ini. Tak percaya tapi memang benar terjadi, rasa-rasanya aku didera derita bertubi-tubi -- okh...

Mungkin terdengar membesar-besarkan, tapi pada kenyataannya banyak banget yang terjadi selama seminggu terakhir ini. Benar-benar membuat sejumput impian untuk bisa tidur nyenyak, jalan-jalan cari (dan makan tentunya) stroberi ciskek, syoping atawa berbaring-baring di rumput di taman-taman, atau main frisbi dengan teman-temanku, atau hanya bermain dan bercanda tawa ria riang gembira dan bertolol-tololan dengan teman-teman baikku di sini yang jauh dari tolol.

Minggu ini aku sudah menumpuk harapan -- semoga kondisi membaik, Amin. Tapi PR masi aja banyak, dan....
yak ampyun, mungkin ini malu-maluin untuk diceritain tapi ini kenyataan.
Hari ini, seperti biasa aku belajar di ruang membaca yang menempel sama perpustakaan Hayden. Kenapa? Soalnya kalo di ruang membaca, kita lebih leluasa kalo mau makan. Alesan lain, karena ruang membaca ga tutup-tutup alias buka 24 jam dan perpustakaan sudah tutup jam 12 malem. Jadi, kalo gak tau kapan mau pulang, daripada malem-malemnya repot-repot hijrah, mending udah nangkring di sana aja dari sore.

Tadi, ya ampun masa aku makan quesadilla... muncrat ke celana!! Sekarang aku bau dapur meksiko.... cis!! ku tak suka!! tapi ku tak akan pulang untuk ganti celana. PR-PR ku mengalahkan rasa benci ku *dangdut banget* terhadap bau itu... yeaaahhh... yeehaaaa.... *emang udah rada gila sekarang*

drowning...

I chat a lot with my Austrian friend. She is a wonderful friend and I almost find my 'twin' in her (despite the fact that I am 14 cm shorter).

We often shared stories and experiences in our high school/undergrad. How difficult the subjects were, how horrible the exams were... but we ended it by "yeah, somehow I still got an A." Sometimes the classes can be very difficult, but only because you're still (slightly) better than the rest, you still manage to get an A. This case is not applicable here at MIT.

At MIT, if you want to get an A you really have to put your B.E.S.T effort C.O.N.T.I.N.U.O.U.S.L.Y, A.L.W.A.Y.S. Believe me, it's a wonder sometimes to know that there are S.O. M.A.N.Y. intelligent people exist, how smart they are, and why on earth do they all have the same idea about coming to MIT. It seems that you can only relax at MIT iff (if and only if):
- you are super smart
- you don't really care about the grade
- your parents fund your education that you don't need to think about securing your own funding etc etc

I always think about my situation with the following analogy (that I've been using since high school I guess):

Imagine you are an entity in the world that occupies a certain coordinate x and y. Your current situation is defined by coordinate z -- which can always varies.
Imagine a swimming pool. Your very own x and y coordinates refer to one point in the swimming pool. The variable, z, is the depth of the swimming pool -- exactly at x and y that you're occupying. z varies for each combination of x and y -- everybody has his/her own problem, that is.

You, as a human, need oxygen from the air, not the water. In other words, you need to float -- you'll lose your breathe if you just stand on the base of the swimming pool.

In my earlier education, my z is not too deep. Thus, I can afford to rest a while by standing and not trying to float. I still can breath and, thus, live.

Now, my z is soooo deep. I have to stay floating all the time. Move my body in order to float even when I start losing energy and hope. I'll be drown if I ever stop floating. I can still survive (surprisingly), but it's just toooooo tiring sometimes.

It's crazy. One small glitch on one of your day, your entire week or even two weeks are in jeopardy.

That's what happen to me now. Wish me luck.

127.0.0.1

Another phrase from an MIT t-shirt:

"There's no place like 127.0.0.1"

It makes me realize: I MISS MY 127.0.0.1, a place with familiar smell, familiar noise, familiar people where I can sleep, sleep, and sleep without worries about homeworks and... stuffs.

leave us alone, we're only students...

This news may not reach the rest of the world, but this is what we received from MIT Police Circulation today:

-- start quote --

1) Shooting:
Cambridge Police report a shooting that occurred on Pearl and Perry Streets on Monday, April 30 at approximately 8:30 p.m.
SUSPECTS:
There are no suspect descriptions at this time.
REPORTED INCIDENT:
The victims were on Pearl Street where they were buying DVDs. One victim states he heard gunshots. He and his friend began running. At this time he realized he was shot in the lower leg.

-- end quote --

If the Virginia Tech Massacre has never occured, probably I will not be as worried as now. Some strange people (non-students) may make use of the situation...

At times, I left the library/reading room at around 1 am and Hayden is a bit far from the main lobby. On some days, I found the hallway empty -- a slight noise can really make me (almost) run. Am I paranoid? FYI, I was at school when the first 1998 riot happened -- so I guess it's normal if I'm slightly paranoid. Anyway, we have to be cautious and vigilant, right?

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