#911 – Monday, Long Weekend, and Bike Repair

ENGLISH

The past ten days or so, my days were super boring. I had a big exam yesterday and it was so scary that even though I spent like a lot of time (yes, by a lot, I mean a lot) studying on it. I literally just locked myself either in my office, my room, or the library, spending those time studying. And yesterday, the D-Day came, and the exam was unexpected. Unexpected as in it was difficult! Yeah, a difficult exam on a difficult subject. (And last week the professor also said that when he was a student, he also found this class difficult, haha). I did my best though and wish me luck!

Anyway, I just realized yesterday that apparently, this weekend is going to be another long weekend! Wow! I lost track of time! I still have many projects to do though due in June, and thus I have not made any plan for those supposedly “off” times. But we will see

Anyway, as you can read here, I realized that there was a problem with my bike last week. However, due to that exam, I did not have the time to go off campus to the autoshop or bike-repair center. Since my exam has passed now, so I decided to take today to fix this non-campus-related problem. I went to the place where I bought the bike, but unfortunately the bikeman was on vacation until end of June. I cannot afford being bikeless for one month. So I went to another place my friend recommended to me in downtown Delft.

After I told him the problems and the repairman checked my bike, he said that the repair cost would approximately be 40 euro or so. 40 euro!?!? Wow! Well, I bought my bike for 60 euro last September, and the repair cost is 40 euro!?!? 40 euro is 67% of its price!! Wow!! Shouldn’t the cost of the repair be more proportional to the price of the bike itself?? hahaha… . Well, but what can I do? I think I have to accept this though, because my bike is a second-hand bike. That’s why I could get it with a relatively low price. FYI, some bikes here cost like up to 1,500 or 2,000 euro!! So I think they only have like one price for a repair, and it is proportional to the price of the bikes they want to sell us, and those bikes are not second-hand ones, .

So, finally I decided to repair my bike. There was another option tho, buy a “new” one (by new, I mean buying another second-hand bike) and sell this one. But I just currently do not have the time to sell my bike and look for a new one. Beside, the difference in the ammount of money between the two options would not be that significant, I think. So this other option was not that worth it for me. And that means that I am practically bikeless until Saturday…

BAHASA INDONESIA

Sepuluh hari belakangan ini, hari-hariku membosankan sekali. Aku ada satu ujian besar kemarin dan ujiannya menyeramkan juga sampai-sampai aku harus memakai banyak waktuku (yup, banyak maksudnya ya banyak) untuk belajar buat kelas ini. Aku beneran deh mengunci diriku di kampus ini, jadi ya kalau nggak di kantor, ya di apartemenku, ato ya di perpustakaan, dan sepanjang waktu belajar. Dan kemarin, hari ujiannya tiba juga. Ujiannya benar-benar nggak disangka deh. Nggak disangka dalam arti susah! Ya, ujian yang sulit di materi yang sulit (dan dosennya sendiri minggu lalu bilang waktu beliau masih mahasiswa dulu, beliau juga merasa materi ini sulit, haha). Aku berusaha yang terbaik sih di ujian dan doakan aku yah!

Ngomong-ngomong, kemarin ini aku baru sadar nih kalau wiken ini bakalan long wiken lagi yah! Wow! Beneran deh kayanya aku sudah agak lupa sama waktu! Aku masih ada banyak proyek yang harus selesai Juni nanti sih, jadi ya aku belum ada rencana apa-apa dengan waktu-waktu yang seharusnya “libur” itu. Tapi kita lihat saja deh

Ngomong-ngomong, seperti yang bisa dibaca disini, aku menyadari minggu lalu bahwa sepedaku agak sedikit bermasalah. Namun, karena ujian di atas itu, aku nggak ada waktu untuk pergi ke luar kampus ke bengkel atau tempat servis sepeda. Karena kini ujiannya sudah lewat, aku memutuskan untuk menggunakan hari ini untuk menyelesaikan masalah yang tak berhubungan-sama-kampus ini. Aku pertamanya pergi ke tempat aku membeli sepeda tetapi sayangnya tukang sepedanya lagi liburan sampai akhir Juni. Nggak mau juga dong aku nggak punya yang namanya sepeda selama sebulan. Jadi, kemudian aku pergi ke sebuah tempat yang direkomendasikan teman di Delft.

Setelah aku mengutarakan masalah-masalahnya dan tukangnya mengecek sepedaku, dia menghitung biayanya dan ternyata biayanya adalah sekitar 40 euro. 40 euro!?!? Wow! Yah, aku membeli sepedaku seharga 60 euro September lalu, dan biaya reparasinya 40 euro!?!? 40 euro kan 67% dari harga sepedanya sendiri!! Wow!! Bukannya harga reparasinya seharusnya lebih proporsional dengan harga sepedanya yah?? hahaha… . Tapi ya mau gimana lagi kan, gara-garanya sepedaku sepeda second sih, makanya bisa beli di harga yang relatif murah. FYI, beberapa sepeda disini harganya bisa sampai 1.500 atau 2.000 euro loh!! Jadi, aku rasa mereka hanya punya satu harga saja untuk reparasi, dan harganya sepadan dengan harga sepeda yang mereka jual ke kita, dan sepeda-sepeda itu bukan sepeda second, .

Jadi, begitulah, akhirnya aku memutuskan untuk mereparasi sepedaku. Sebenarnya ada satu pilihan lain sih, beli aja sepeda “baru” (maksudnya beli sepeda second lagi gitu) dan menjual sepeda ini. Tapi aku sekarang lagi nggak ada waktu sih untuk menjual sepeda dan mencari sepeda baru. Di samping itu, toh dalam hal biaya juga bedanya tidak terlalu signifikan deh, menurutku sih. Jadi, opsi lain ini tidak terlalu menarik untukku saat ini. Dan ini berarti, aku kini tidak punya sepeda sampai hari Sabtu…

#910 – First Time with Contact Lenses

ENGLISH

As I wrote here, some time ago I bought contact lenses because I was kinda curios about wearing them. And finally, three days ago, the products arrived. I then got excited in trying to wear them right away. I tried it on two days ago (because three days ago it arrived pretty much in late afternoon). And apparently people, even though I had already “prepared myself” by reading many articles about how to wear contact lenses, wearing contact lenses (for the first time) was extremely utterly hard.

It was so difficult to get the lenses sticked to the eyes. The main obstacle was, because I was not accustomed to it, the reflex of my eyes to blink. The blinkings for sure disrupted the process of contact lenses wearing. Even after this obstacle was overcome, sometimes the lens had already been sticked a little bit to the eye, but then it did not want to detach from the finger. So, when I pulled the finger out, the lens chose not to stick on the eye but kept sticking on my finger! Solving this problem was kinda easy though, just open a junior high school Physics book about adhesion : add a little bit of fluid to the side of the lens that would stick to the eye and make sure our finger is dry, this will cause the force for the lens to stick on the eye stronger than on the finger. After one eye was done, the whole process and obstacles needed to be done for the other eye.

Once in place, it felt a little bit “burning” for like 5 or 10 seconds and I got teary eyed. The “burning” sensation was probably similar to the “burning” feeling we have if we are swimming with our eyes opened without wearing goggles. At first it felt a bit uncomfortable but after awhile, it was fine. After this phase was passed, well, no more further problem. Maybe just because I was not used to it, it felt kinda “weird” after awhile, having something sticking to the eyes. Maybe the feeling was a bit similar to the first moment wearing glasses. We felt strange at first, hahaha.

Removing the lenses were kinda sacry at first. Some friends also said removing lenses were more difficult than putting them on. Well, one friend gave my tips on how he removed lenses, and combining this tips with the articles I read in the internet, the removing process was overall smooth, hahaha.

And guess how much time in total I needed to put those lenses? Well, since I unwrapped the first lens until the first lens finally sticked on my eye: 24 hours! Yes, 24 hours or one full day! Btw, maybe this can become the materials for one season of the TV show 24? lol ( )So, I had a class two days ago at 10.45 AM. So, I started trying wearing them at 9.45 AM. But until 10.15 AM, not even one lens had been in place. And I was thinking that I had no time for this. And so I postponed it a bit and went to the class. After the class ended at 12.30 PM, I went back home and continued my effort. Again, I did not succeed. And because I had an appointment at 1.30 PM to work on an assignment, I decided not to continue my effort that day. The next day (which means yesterday), I tried again, but now with stronger will and courage (lol ). And finally, after several attempts, I did it! I put one lens on my right eye! And then I put the next lens on my left eye, and it was easier because once we knew how to put a lens on, the following attempts would be easier. Starting something is always the most difficult step.

And yes, wearing lenses are cool! I mean, we have wider view and there is no “barrier”. I also felt “freer” as there was nothing hanging on my face, haha. Well, I am used to wearing glasses though and so if not in some occasional cases (like when I am sweating), wearing glasses is not a problem for me, haha.

So, that was it, my first experience wearing contact lenses! Well, I did not buy the monthly (or longer period) contact lenses thoguh, I bought the daily ones, because I still have no will to wear them everyday (it’s expensive!). So I only plan to wear them just on some occasions. But I don’t know though, maybe I will change in the future, haha.

New Contact Lenses

BAHASA INDONESIA

Seperti yang kutulis disini, beberapa waktu yang lalu aku membeli yang namanya lensa kontak soalnya penasaran. Nah, tiga hari yang lalu barangnya akhirnya sampai juga di apartemen. Langsung dong aku bersemangat mencoba memakainya. Aku mencoba memakainya dua hari yang lalu (soalnya tiga hari yg lalu barangnya sampenya sore banget sih). Dan ternyata saudara-saudara, walaupun aku sudah “mempersiapkan diri” dengan cara membaca-baca banyak artikel mengenai cara mengenakan lensa kontak, yang namanya memakai lensa kontak (untuk pertama kali) itu susahnya setengah hidup loh (daripada setengah mati, mending melihatnya dari sudut pandang positif kan, jadi setengah hidup ==> apaseh ).

Susah banget nempelin lensa kontak itu ke mata. Gangguan utamanya adalah, karena belum biasa, mata ini refleks berkedip yang tentu saja kedipan-kedipan itu mengganggu proses dipasangnya lensa kontak. Setelah melalui proses ini, kadang lensa sudah sedikit menempel di mata tapi kemudian lensanya nggak mau lepas dari jari. Jadi, ketika jari ditarik lagi, lensanya tetep nempel di jari dan nggak jadi nempel di mata. Solusi untuk ini mudah sih, buka saja buku pelajaran Fisika anak SMP tentang gaya adhesi : tambahkan cairan lensa kontak di sisi yang akan menempel di mata, dan pastikan jari ini kering, sehingga gaya tempel lensa di mata akan lebih kuat daripada gaya lensa nempel di jari. Setelah semua beres di satu mata, seluruh proses dan gangguan akan dialami di mata yang satunya.

Begitu terpakai, awalnya terasa agak perih mungkin sekitar 5-10 detik dan mata ini mengeluarkan air mata. Rasa perihnya mungkin mirip sama kalau kita berenang sambil membuka mata dan nggak memakai kacamata renang. Awalnya kan terasa perih-perih gimanaa gitu, yang kalau sudah biasa sih nggak masalah ya. Cuma setelah fase itu terlewati sih nggak ada masalah deh. Hanya saja mungkin karena belum biasa, jadi ya setelah berapa lama agak kerasa gimanaa gitu di mata, lensa kontaknya terasa. Perasaan yang mirip lah kalau baru pertama kali memakai kacamata. Di kepala ini rasanya “aneh” gitu, hahaha.

Melepas lensa kontak awalnya serem-serem juga. Beberapa teman juga bilang melepas itu lebih susah daripada memakainya. Cuma seorang teman memberiku tips bagaimana cara melepasnya, dan mengombinasikan tips itu dengan artikel yang kubaca di internet, proses pelepasan lensanya lancar-lancar saja, hahaha.

Tahukah berapa lama proses yang kubutuhkan untuk memasang lensa itu? Dari semenjak aku membuka bungkus pertama lensa kontak sampai lensa pertama menempel di mataku: 24 jam! Yup, 24 jam alias seharian! Btw, jangan-jangan bisa nih dibikin jadi satu season serial TV 24 yah, lol (apaseh ). Ceritanya aku kan ada kelas dua hari lalu jam 10.45 pagi. Aku mencoba mulai memakainya jam 9.45 pagi. Tapi sampai jam 10.15 pagi koq satu lensa aja nggak kepasang-kepasang. Trus aku mikir: “Mana sempet kalo gini caranya?” Ya uda trus aku kemudian menunda memakainya pagi itu dan menghadiri kelas. Setelah kelas beres jam 12.30, aku pulang dan kembali mencobanya. Lagi-lagi belum berhasil. Karena aku ada janji buat bikin tugas jam 1.30, ya uda aku akhirnya mengurungkan niat memakai lensa kontak hari itu. Keesokan harinya (yg artinya kemarin ini), aku mencoba memakainya lagi. Kali ini dengan niat dan keteguhan hati yang lebih kuat (apaseh ). Akhirnya setelah beberapa kali mencoba, berhasil juga loh memasangnya di mata kanan! Kemudian untuk mata kiri sih lebih gampang, soalnya begitu sekali terpasang, yang berikut-berikutnya lebih gampang deh. Memulai itu memang sesuatu yang paling sulit yah.

Dan ternyata memakai lensa kontak itu memang enak yah! Pandangan mata lebih luas dan nggak ada gangguan gitu. Rasa lebih bebas juga terasa soalnya nggak ada “sesuatu” yang menggantung di muka ini, haha. Cuma aku sudah biasa sih memakai kacamata jadi kalau bukan di waktu tertentu (misalnya kalau lagi berkeringat) juga nggak masalah juga memakai kacamata, haha.

Jadi, begitulah pengalaman pertamaku memakai lensa kontak! Aku nggak beli lensa yang tahan lama sih, beli yang seharian aja, soalnya memang belum ada niat untuk terus memakainya setiap waktu (mahal euy). Jadi rencananya mau make di occasion-occasion tertentu aja. Cuma nggak tahu juga ya nanti gimana, haha.

#909 – Surprising Thought and Bike

ENGLISH

This Tuesday, I realized something scary. Here is the story, Monday evening I went to bed at 11 PM or so because I was already so sleepy. Btw, I find that now it is kinda funny in Europe. Once I was interneting in my apartment. I looked outside through my window and it was still bright, I thought it was still in the afternoon or se (at around 8 PM, since now in Europe, day is already longer than night). Then I saw my clock, and it was apparently already 10.15 PM!! I was shocked! hahaha. Anyway, so on Tuesday morning I got up at around 7 AM. And guess what thought was the first time which came up in my mind? This: “It is 7 AM now, ideal, it means I have been sleeping for 8 hours. Umm, but I will today have a long day in campus as I want to stay in the office all day long and stay late to study. If I get up now, I will have been ready by 9 AM. I will be too tired by the end of the day, and this afternoon when I am having a meeting with one professor to discuss the materials of the exam, I will potentially have been too tired and cannot concentrate well. I think now I have to take a little bit of more rest so that today will be more efficient!” O.o After that I just lied on my bed for another 40 minutes, but the motivation was not because I was too lazy to get up but for the work efficiency that day! I am surprised myself that work efficiency was my first thought getting up! haha…

Anyway, lately I felt a little problem with my bike However, I don’t really understand that well the mechanics of a bicycle so I guess I have no other option than bring it to a workshop or something. However (again), now I am super busy with all the stuffs from campus, hiks , so many things to do and it seems to be never ending. So, I don’t have the time to bring it to the workshop this week, maybe next week.

This is how 9 PM looks like in Delft in May

BAHASA INDONESIA

Selasa ini, aku menyadari sesuatu yang mengerikan loh. Ceritanya begini, Senin malam aku tidur jam 11an kurang soalnya uda ngantuk. Btw, sekarang ini di Eropa lucu juga ya. Ceritanya kan aku lagi internetan di apartemen nih, ngeliat keluar masih terang gitu, kirain masih sore (jam 8an lah, kan di Eropa siang sekarang uda lebih panjang daripada malam). Trus liat jam dinding, ternyata uda jam 10.15 malem loh!! Sampe kaget! hahaha. Anyway, terus Selasa pagi aku bangun jam 7 pagi. Dan tahukah saudara-saudara apa yang aku pikirkan ketika bangun? Ini: “Sekarang jam 7 pagi, ideal, berarti aku sudah tidur 8 jam. Eh, tapi hari ini jadwalku di kampus panjang nih soalnya mau stay di kantor seharian dan lembur buat belajar. Kalau aku bangun sekarang, aku bakal sudah siap jam 9 pagi. Bakal kecapean dong, akhirnya sore nanti di saat appointment sama dosen untuk nanya2 materi bisa2 uda kecapean dan nggak konsen. Sepertinya harus istirahat agak lebih lamaan dikit deh supaya hari ini lebih efisien!” O.o Akhirnya aku tiduran sampe kira-kira 40 menit kemudian, tapi motivasinya bukan karena males bangun tapi adalah demi efisiensi kerja di hari Selasa itu! Sampe kaget sendiri nih kalau efisiensi kerja adalah pikiran pertamaku ketika bangun! haha…

O iya, akhir-akhir ini aku juga merasakan ada sedikit masalah dengan sepedaku deh Masalahya, aku kan nggak terlalu ngerti sama yang namanya mekanika dalam sepeda, jadi mau ga mau sepertinya mesti dibawa ke bengkel deh. Masalahnya lagi, aku sedang sibuk-sibuknya nih, hiks , banyak banget yang namanya kerjaan dan nggak habis-habis. Jadi seminggu ini belum sempat ke bengkel deh, mungkin minggu depan.

#908 – Story of the Week

ENGLISH

Another week has passed. First of all, I would want to write that this very Sunday last year, I was leaving Bandung for good. Time flies! Somehow it has been a year! (well, not a year “a year” actually, it was 364 days ago, which means it has been a year minus one day, ).

Then, I found out that I have a problem with my bike, a flat-tire. Easy to solve actually, as I can just go to the basement of my campus and I can pump it there. Even though it is weekend now, I have my weekend access so I still can enter the building. The problem is that apparently the pump isn’t running during weekend (it is not a manual pump, there is a hose connected to the gas/air pipes on the basement or stuffs which circulate the air)! Dammit! Buying a pump is not a wise option ( ) because how many times in a year will I need to pump my bike? Plus a free pump is available just like literally 50 meter from where I live, why bother buying one? Well, tomorrow morning I have to go to the station and I don’t think I can bike there. So I will either walk or catch a bus And I think going by bus is more tempting, isn’t it?

Anyway, this week, I bought contact lenses just for fun. Well, it is because I am a bit curious in wearing them, after wearing glasses for four and a half year as of now. Some said one of the advantages of contact lenses is the broader and more comfortable view. This makes sense, as sometimes I also feel a bit uncomfortable with my glasses’ frame especially when I am sweating, haha. Well, the lenses have not been delivered yet (I bought them online), so I have not tried them on. And this will be the first time I am wearing them, so I am kinda excited, hahaha…

It means that I will need a mirror to wear those lenses. The problem is that the only mirror in my apartment is the mirror in the bathroom. Of course it is super uncomfortable if I have to go to the bathroom just to wear contact lenses, and so I decided to buy a table mirror. I thought it would be practical.

Thus, the mirror hunting process began. I went to Delft’s centrum to look for a mirror. Somehow, I failed to find one. Well, I did find one, but it was very small and the price was kinda expensive, around 4.5 euro if I am not mistaken. I then thought maybe because I was looking for it in the centrum, it was expensive and rare. And so I decided to go to IKEA as IKEA is the center of, like, everything, everything is there. Of course in that huge building of IKEA (the first time I went there, lucky I was with my friends, otherwise it would have been very easy to get lost in there ) there was a mirror display room. Well, there was actually no mirror which I liked so much. There was one which was good, but it was like 10 euro or so. There was another one which was cheap, it was 2.4 euro for 4 mirrors and these were mirrors to hang on the wall which means we could not put them on a table. Plus, why would I buy 4 mirrors? There was another one which was also cheap, 1.2 euro for one but the frame of the mirror (well, it is that edge of the mirror made of wood, plastic, or something) was bigger than the actual mirror, and the mirror itself was soo tiny. Why would I buy this kind of mirror? Finally I found one which was pretty much in the middle. It was 6 euro, the size was okay, and it was a nice product. And so I decided to buy this 6 euro mirror.

So, the moral of the story is : mirror is freaking expensive! At first I thought a standard-sized table mirror would cost around 2 euro or 3 euro maximum! But then, its price exceeded my expectation! So people, if you have a mirror, do not break it, because if you have to buy a new one, it is expensive!! hahaha…

The 6 Euro Mirror (and me in it )

BAHASA INDONESIA

Satu minggu berlalu sudah. Pertama-tama, aku ingin menulis bahwa tahun lalu di hari Minggu ini banget, aku meninggalkan Bandung for good. Waktu benar-benar cepat berlalu yah! Nggak kerasa sudah setahun aja! (yah, belum “setahun” juga sih, soalnya hari itu kan baru 364 hari yang lalu, yang artinya setahun kurang sehari lah, ).

Lalu, aku juga baru tahu kalau ada masalah sama sepedaku, bannya (nyaris) kempes. Yah, gampang sih ngebenerinnya, kan aku tinggal jalan ke basement kampus dan aku bisa mompa ban disana. Walau sekarang ini wiken, kan aku punya kartu akses wiken yang mana aku jadi bisa memasuki gedung kampus di saat wiken. Masalahnya, ternyata pompanya nggak jalan pas wiken (ini bukan pompa manual biasa gitu, jadi ada kaya selang yang terhubung sama pipa-pipa udara buat ventilasi di gedung ato apalah gitu)! Sial! Membeli pompa jelas bukanlah pilihan yang bijak lah ya ( ) soalnya berapa kali coba dalam setahun aku butuh memompa ban sepeda? Lagian, kan ada pompa gratisan hanya 50 meter dari tempatku tinggal, jadi ngapain beli? Ya ga? Yah, besok pagi aku harus ke stasiun nih dan rasanya aku nggak akan bisa sepedaan kesana. Jadi aku akan jalan kaki atau naik bus Kayanya enakan naik bus kali yah.

Ngomong-ngomong, minggu ini, aku iseng membeli lensa kontak. Soalnya penasaran saja gitu memakai lensa kontak, setelah empat setengah tahun memakai kacamata. Katanya ada beberapa keunggulan lensa kontak yang salah satunya adalah pandangan mata ini lebih lapang dan enak. Bener juga sih, soalnya kadang aku merasa agak kurang nyaman juga dengan gagang kacamata yang rasanya agak gimana gitu kalau aku berkeringat, haha. Lensanya belum sampai sih (belinya online), jadi aku belum coba pakai. Dan ini akan menjadi kali pertama aku memakai lensa kontak. Deg-degan juga, hahaha…

Nah, untuk memakai lensa kontak itu, kan aku butuh cermin nih. Masalahnya, satu-satunya cermin di dalam kamar apartemenku ya adanya cuma di kamar mandi saja. Kan nggak nyaman dong kalau mau make lensa kontak koq harus ke kamar mandi gitu, ya udah aku terus memutuskan untuk beli cermin duduk buat meja aja. Jadi kan praktis.

Nah, kemudian dimulailah proses perburuan cermin. Aku pergi ke centrum-nya Delft untuk mencari cermin. Entah kenapa, aku gagal menemukannya. Nemu sih satu, tapi kecil sekali dan harganya mahal, sekitar 4,5 euro kalau nggak salah. Aku kemudian berpikir mungkin karena aku nyarinya di centrum, harganya mahal dan jarang ada. Ya udah aku terus memutuskan untuk pergi ke IKEA secara IKEA ini kan pusat barang-barang perabotan gitu, semuanya ada deh disana. Dan tentu saja dong, di dalam gedung IKEA yang besar buanget itu (dulu waktu pertama kesana, untung aku bareng temen, kalo nggak di dalamnya bisa nyasar deh tuh ) ada satu ruangan khusus buat display cermin. Eh, ternyata disana nggak ada cermin yang bener-bener sreg di hati. Ada sih yang lumayan, tapi harganya koq 10an euro. Ada juga yang murah, harganya 2,4 euro aja tapi dapet 4 biji dan ini cermin buat digantung di dinding gitu jadi ga bisa didudukin di meja. Lagian, buat apa coba beli cermin 4 biji? Ada lagi yang murah, sebijinya cuma 1,2 euro tapi koq pigura cerminnya itu (itu lho, bagian pinggirnya cermin yang dibuat dari kayu, plastik, ato apalah) koq lebih besar daripada kacanya sendiri, dan kacanya sendiri juga kuecill banget. Ngapain juga beli cermin kaya gini?? Akhirnya nemu satu yang spesifikasinya rada di tengah-tengah. Harganya 6 euro dan ukurannya tanggung, tapi udah lumayan sih, buatannya juga bagus. Ya udah akhirnya aku memutuskan membeli si cermin 6 euro ini.

Moral of the story-nya adalah: ternyata harga cermin itu mahal banget yah! Awalnya aku kira harganya cermin duduk ukuran standar gitu paling 2 euro lho, ya 3 euro maksimal lah! Lha eh koq ternyata harganya melebihi itu! Jadi saudara-saudara, kalau punya cermin itu jangan dipecahkan. Soalnya kalo harus beli baru lagi mahal!! hahaha…

#907 – 2011 French Open Prediction

ENGLISH

Some people who have read my old blog for quite some time should know that I am following professional tennis. And this is the main topic of this entry because the second grandslam of the year 2011, the French Open, starts today.

Anyway, probably five months ago I had a thought about going to Paris this May to watch this tournament live. Well, I already knew my budget so I was looking for a ticket of the first three days of the tournament, where it would still be the first round stage by then as logically these days would be the cheapest days to go. However, somehow I ended up in the wrong websites, causing me to understand that the tickets were unbelievably expensive! Some French friends of mine already told me the approximate ticket fee for this stage, but the price I found was like almost ten times more expensive than that! Well, I should have thought there must be something wrong going on here. But I didn’t and for some reasons, I gave it up this year, thinking about going there next year after I saved more money. Now that I know my current workload, I feel blessed to actually end up in the wrong websites! Things happen for a reason, surely!

Anyway, let’s get it started.

Men

I think everyone would agree now that the two strongest candidates to win the trophy this year are Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, current world no.1, and the defending champion; and Novak Djokovic, current world no.2 and has NOT lost a single match this year! There is a unique consequence of the result of this tournament. Novak Djokovic has quite a chance to replace Rafael Nadal as the world no.1 after this tournament IF: (1) Rafael Nadal does NOT win the title, OR (2) Novak Djokovic reaches the final of the tournament. Note the “OR” relation there, which means that should ONE of these two happens, we will have a new world no.1.

Andy Murray might do some damages and actually has the potency to go deep into the tournament, judging based on his current performances on clay. He might give Rafa some problems if both of them make it through to the semifinals (they are in the same half of the draw). Roger Federer, well, he is still a contender though, but I think his steam is not as hot as Rafa’s nor Novak’s this season. Last year’s runner up, Robin Soderling, hasn’t performed really well on clay this season. There is one dangerous player in the field, Juan Martin del Potro, who is the 25th seed this year. I think he can be the dark horse, and with his position as “only” the 25th seed, he can be a dangerous floater in the draw and potentially can cause some surprises early on in the tournament. But to be a champion, I still think it is quite a long shot. Beside, now there is a possibility that he will meet Novak Djokovic in the third round.

My pick for the win: Rafael Nadal, only by a tiny margin over Novak Djokovic. I still think clay is Rafa’s surface.

My prediction for the final : Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic.

Women

Quite different than the men’s, the draw is very wide open for the women. Two women tennis stars are absent this year: Serena Williams and Venus Williams due to injuries. Quite a huge loss for women’s tennis. Serena even has not played a single official match since winning Wimbledon last year, which was like 11 months back then! Some top players are hampered by injury. Kim Clijsters, even though she has confirmed she is playing this year, has not played a single match on clay this season due to an injury. Thus, her preparation and performance is a little bit in questionable state. Victoria Azarenka, a young contender of the game, was also injured in her match against Maria Sharapova in Rome just last week. Maria Sharapova’s best surface has not been clay. This leaves us with one big name: Caroline Wozniacki, the current world no.1. However, she has not performed that consistently on clay also lately, even though still good.

We should not forget the defending champion, Francesca Schiavone and last year’s finalist, Samantha Stosur. But I don’t know, somehow I feel like they have not been playing that well lately. I mean, with all due respect, I feel like that Schiavone was, in a way, lucky to win last year. There are also several potential names up there: Julia Gorges, who beat Caroline Wozniacki two times in a row on clay this year and they possibly meet in the quarterfinals this year; and Petra Kvitova, who won Madrid two weeks ago.

So yeah, the field is super wide open. But if I have to pick one, my pick for the win: Caroline Wozniacki, simply because she is the less troubled lately. Plus, she is in a relatively easier draw as most of the contenders are drawn in the bottom half of the group (as the first seed, Wozniacki is in the upper half draw). But I do believe the draw is still very much open and anyone can win. Even, there is a better chance that there might be a surprise

My prediction for the final : Caroline Wozniacki vs Petra Kvitova.

So, that’s it about my view of this second grandslam of the year. To close this entry, I want to share a very funny video, still involving tennis of course, I found several days ago, enjoy :

My Pick for the French Open 2011: Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki

note: Rafael Nadal’s picture was taken from here, while Caroline Wozniacki’s from here.

BAHASA INDONESIA 

Mereka yang mengikuti blog lamaku mungkin tahu bahwa aku adalah fans dari tenis profesional. Dan hal ini adalah tema utama posting kali ini, soalnya turnamen grandslam kedua tahun 2011 ini, French Open, dimulai sekarang.

Ngomong-ngomong, sekitar lima bulan yang lalu aku ada pikiran untuk pergi ke Paris bulan Mei ini untuk nonton langsung turnamennya. Yah, aku tahu anggaranku dan aku mencari tiket tiga hari pertama turnamen, dimana di tiga hari itu kan masih babak pertama dari turnamen jadi ya harga tiketnya masih yang paling murah. Namun, entah bagaimana aku masuk ke website penjual tiket yang salah, sehingga aku sampai berpikir kalau harga tiketnya mahalnya bukan main! Beberapa temanku yang orang Prancis sudah memberiku kisaran harganya untuk babak awal ini, tapi harga yang kutemukan di internet sekitar sepuluh kali lipat lebih mahal dari kisaran harga itu! Yah, aku seharusnya sudah curiga kalau ada sesuatu yang salah disini. Tapi entah kenapa aku nggak curiga dan akhirnya memutuskan menyerah untuk mencari tiket buat tahun ini, dan malah berpikir untuk pergi tahun depan saja sambil nabung dulu. Nah, sekarang ini ketika aku sudah tahu banyaknya kerjaanku bulan Mei ini, aku malah merasa beruntung loh waktu itu aku mampir ke website yang salah! Memang semua hal terjadi karena suatu alasan!

Yah, mari kita mulai.

Putra

Aku rasa semua akan setuju kalau dua kandidat terkuat untuk memenangkan piala tunggal putra tahun ini adalah Rafael Nadal, si Raja Tanah Liat, pemegang peringkat satu dunia saat ini, dan juara bertahan; dan Novak Djokovic, yang saat ini berada di peringkat kedua dan BELUM pernah kalah tahun ini! Ada satu konsekuensi unik sebagai hasil dari turnamen ini. Ada suatu kesempatan bagi Novak Djokovic untuk menggantikan Rafael Nadal sebagai peringkat satu dunia setelah turnamen ini, yaitu JIKA: (1) Rafael Nadal TIDAK JUARA di turnamen ini, ATAU (2) Novak Djokovic mencapai final dari turnamen ini. Perhatikan hubungan “ATAU” tuh, yang artinya kalau satu saja dari dua skenario ini terjadi, kita akan memiliki peringkat satu dunia yang baru.

Andy Murray bisa jadi membuat kejutan dan memang dia ada potensi untuk bertahan cukup lama di turnamen ini, berdasarkan penampilannya di tanah liat akhir-akhir ini. Ia bisa menjadi masalah bagi Rafa kalau dua-duanya masuk ke semifinal (mereka ada di setengah bagian yg sama dari draw). Roger Federer, yah, dia tentu masih harus diperhitungkan yah, tapi aku rasa sih saat ini dia berada di bayang-bayagnya Rafa atau Novak deh. Runner up tahun lalu, Robin Soderling, koq nggak tampil konsisten di musim tanah liat kali ini. Ada satu pemain “berbahaya” memang, Juan Martin del Potro, yang berada di unggulan ke 25. Aku rasa ia bisa jadi kuda hitam, dan dengan posisinya yang “hanya” berada di unggulan ke 25, ia berpotensi menimbulkan kejutan di babak awal turnamen. Cuma aku rasa sih untuk bisa sampai juara, masih agak jauh yah. Di samping itu, ada kemungkinan juga ia akan bertemu dengan Novak Djokovic di babak ketiga.

Prediksi juaraku : Rafael Nadal, hanya berbeda tipis dari Novak Djokovic sih. Cuma aku rasa tanah liat ya masih miliknya Rafa.

Dugaan finalku : Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic.

Putri

Agak berbeda dari kondisi di tenis putra, tenis putri kali ini sangatlah terbuka lebar. Dua bintang tenis absen tahun ini: Serena Williams dan Venus Williams karena cedera. Benar-benar kehilangan yang sangat besar bagi tenis putri. Bahkan Serena belum pernah main satu pertandingan resmi pun loh semenjak ia menjuarai Wimbledon tahun lalu, yang diadakan kira-kira 11 bulan yang lalu! Beberapa pemain papan atas juga sedang dilanda cedera. Kim Clijsters, walau ia sudah mengonfirmasi akan bermain tahun ini, juga belum main satu pertandingan pun di tanah liat tahun ini karena cedera. Artinya, persiapan dan performanya di turnamen ini juga sedang bisa dipertanyakan. Victoria Azarenka, seorang yang juga layak diunggulkan, didera cedera minggu lalu ketika bertanding melawan Maria Sharapova di Roma. Permukaan terbaik Maria Sharapova bukanlah tanah liat. Ini menyisakan kita dengan satu nama besar: Caroline Wozniacki, peringkat satu dunia saat ini. Yah, tapi ia juga nggak tampil terlalu konsisten sih di musim tanah liat kali ini, walau masih lumayan juga sebenarnya.

Kita juga tidak boleh melupakan sang juara bertahan, Francesca Schiavone, dan runner up tahun lalu, Samantha Stosur. Tapi, yah, gimana ya, aku koq merasa mereka tidak tampil maksimal akhir-akhir ini. Lagian, bukannya bermaksud gimana, aku juga merasa Schiavone tuh setengahnya beruntung deh bisa juara tahun lalu. Lalu, ada juga beberapa nama potensial: Julia Gorges, yang mengalahkan Caroline Wozniacki dua kali berturut-turut di tanah liat tahun ini, dan mereka bisa bertemu di perempat final; dan Petra Kvitova, yang menjuarai Madrid dua minggu yang lalu.

Jadi, yah, memang kesempatannya terbuka sangat lebar. Kalau aku harus memilih satu, aku rasa pilihanku untuk juara adalah Caroline Wozniacki. Alasannya simpel saja, karena ia yang paling tidak dilanda masalah akhir-akhir ini. Ditambah lagi, menurutku ia berada di grup yang lebih mudah, karena sebagian besar pemain yang diandalkan tahun ini berada di grup bawah (sebagai unggulan pertama, Wozniacki berada di grup atas).  Tapi aku masih berpendapat kalau kesempatannya masih terbuka lebar dan siapa pun bisa enang. Bahkan, kesempatan akan ada kejutan juga cukup besar

Dugaan finalku: Caroline Wozniacki vs Petra Kvitova.

Nah, itulah pandanganku mengenai grandslam kedua tahun ini. Untuk menutup posting ini, aku ingin berbagi sebuah video lucu, yang masih berhubungan dengan tenis tentunya, yang aku temukan beberapa hari yang lalu. Silakan dinikmati (videonya ada di atas).

#906 – Cold Weather, Summer Plan, and Tennis

ENGLISH

Lately has been very weird. You all know, it is already the month of May now. So, technically, in the Netherlands, it is supposed to be approaching summer, a season that is supposed to be hot. But these past few days, it has been cold here! Well, not as cold as winter still, but it is cold! Well, actually, I am not really complaining about it though because I don’t like hot weather anyway, hahaha…

Well, there is nothing new going on in my life now. I think you all will be very bored if I tell what I have been doing, as all of my activities are all about stuffs from campus. So, let me skip that part . Anyway, lately I have been thinking about planning my summer plan. I am not going back to Indonesia this summer (even though two or three weeks ago there was a very tempting offer from Lufthansa where they sold cheap tickets from Amsterdam to Singapore vv). It means that I am staying here in Europe. The thing is, it will be a one month plus summer break and I do not want to be that miserable staying in the Netherlands all the time. So, I think I have to start making plans soon. I have been talking to some friends about a summer trip to some countries in Europe but we have not come to the action of actually finalizing it yet. Well, we will see about that.

Anyway, I actually had a plan to go to Brussels last Tuesday to watch a women tennis tournament that is currently being held there this week. The tournament is the Brussels Open, a Premier-level tournament. I was interested because of two things : Brussels is not that far from where I live now (just 2 hour train-ride) and one of my all-time most favorite players, Venus Williams, was scheduled to make a come back there after being sidelined for a long time due to ongoing injury. However, I knew that there was quite a chance that Venus would actually withdraw for some reasons. For that reason, I had not bought the ticket yet. Then, my concern was correct. Last week, Venus withdrew from the tournament because she had not recovered yet from the injury. Lucky then I hadn’t bought the ticket! Well, then I lost one reason to go to Brussels and I decided not to go there. The considerations were that even though many other top players (also my other favorite, Caroline Wozniacki) were still playing there, I was still okay with not going somehow; plus the fact that I have many things to work on now from campus; and also that I want to save a bit more money for summer . Beside, there will be another tournament held in the Netherlands next June, even though the level of that tournament will be lower than this Brussels Open.

BAHASA INDONESIA

Akhir-akhir ini tuh aneh sekali deh. Tahu lah ya kalau sekarang ini sudah bulan Mei. Artinya, secara teknis, di Belanda ini seharusnya sudah mau masuk yang namanya musim panas, sebuah musim yang seharusnya panas (sesuai namanya). Tapi entah kenapa beberapa hari ini disini dingin banget loh! Yah, sebenarnya aku nggak komplain juga sih soalnya aku kan nggak suka cuaca yang panas, hahaha….

Yah, nggak ada yang baru yang terjadi di kehidupanku. Masih gini-gini aja koq, pasti pada bosen deh kalau aku menceritakan apa yang baru aku kerjakan, soalnya semua aktivitasku ya berhubungan sama aktivitas dari kampus. Jadi, aku lompati saja ya . Ngomong-ngomong, akhir-akhir ini aku sedang memikirkan untuk merencanakan rencana musim panas nih. Aku nggak akan pulang ke Indonesia musim panas ini (walau sebenarnya dua atau tiga minggu lalu ada tawaran menarik dari Lufthansa loh dimana mereka menjual tiket murah untuk penerbangan dari Amsterdam ke Singapura pp). Artinya, aku akan tinggal disini di Eropa. Masalahnya adalah, aku akan memiliki waktu libur sebulanan lebih. Nggak mau juga dong harus melewatkan waktu selama itu dengan tetep duduk di rumah dengan menyedihkan. Jadi, aku berpikir bahwa aku harus segera menyusun rencana. Aku sudah ngobrol dengan beberapa teman mengenai rencana jalan-jalan ke beberapa negara di Eropa, tapi kami masih belum sampai tahap dimana kami melakukan sesuatu untuk merealisasikannya. Yah, kita lihat saja deh.

Ngomong-ngomong, sebenarnya aku ada rencana mau pergi ke Brussels hari Selasa lalu untuk nonton satu turnamen tenis wanita disana yang diadakan minggu ini. Turnamennya adalah Brussels Open, turnamen berlevel Premier. Aku tertarik karena dua hal: Brussels itu nggak jauh dari tempatku tinggal sekarang (cuma 2 jam naik kereta) dan salah satu pemain favoritku sepanjang masa : Venus Williams, dijadwalkan kembali bertanding disana setelah absen lama karena cedera yang berkepanjangan. Namun, aku tahu kalau ada kemungkinan juga Venus akhirnya mundur dari turnamen ini karena satu dan lain hal. Karena alasan itu, aku belum beli tiketnya. Ternyata dugaanku benar, Venus akhirnya mundur dari turnamen ini karena cederanya belum pulih benar. Untung belum beli tiketnya! Yah, hilang deh satu alasan untuk pergi ke Brussels dan akhirnya aku nggak jadi pergi kesana. Pertimbangannya adalah walaupun masih banyak pemain top lainnya (termasuk salah satu favoritku kini, Caroline Wozniacki) masih bermain disana, tapi aku masih nggak papa deh nggak nonton langsung; juga fakta bahwa ada banyak hal yang harus kuselesaikan dari kampus; dan juga aku ingin lebih hemat sedikit untuk menabung buat musim panas nanti . Di samping itu, bulan Juni nanti juga akan ada satu turnamen lagi yang diadakan di Belanda nih, walau level turnamen itu berada di bawah level Brussels Open ini sih.

#905 – Things I Cannot Leave Home Without

ENGLISH

I got another homework from Mrs. Ndutyke, this time about things I cannot leave home without. Well, I will write it in two categories though: the ones I always bring, and the ones I bring when I have my bag with me.

Category 1 : The ones I always bring (unless I forget )

(1) Cellphone : Even though here in the Netherlands my use of cellphone has diminished significantly, I still cannot leave home without it. Still, sometimes it is quite useful though, for example when I am taking a quite long train ride, I can use my phone to access Facebook and the internet

(2) Wallet : Another obvious one I have my money, cards, ID there. Leaving home without wallet = nightmare!

(3) Keys : This one is quite tricky as sometimes I forget to bring my keys, even though this happens very rarely. The thing is, my apartment now has an automatic locked-door. It is like in some hotels, you know, where everytime you close the door, it automatically locks itself. That is why leaving home without keys is very problematic, hahaha… .

(4) Watch : It has kinda been a habit to me. Leaving home without watch will trigger a feeling that something is missing. But still, sometimes I do also forget to wear a watch

(5) MP3 player and earphone : When I am going outside alone, it is relaxing to plug earphone in my ears and listen to some music. Somehow, it has become quite a habit I think, ever since I moved to Europe.

And of course

(6) Pocket Camera : This one gadget has become one of my must-brought items. I don’t know, I feel like bringing camera is important, as we do not know when something is happening around us, right? Maybe when I am out, something rare or important is happening and with my camera with me, I can capture that thing! Or when I am outside and I find something beautiful/interesting (which I do not expect before), I can take a picture of them.

Winter only:

(7) Gloves and Scarf : the reason is quite obvious, winter is freaking cold!!

Category 2 : When I have my bag with me

(1) Bottle(s) of Water : The water sanitary system in the Netherlands is very good. Basically, we can drink water from tap or anything (unless there is a warning). The thing is, if we don’t bring our own bottle of water and we buy it in the supermarket/minimarket/vending machine, the price is really expensive (ranging from 1 euro to 2.5 euro for a 500 mL bottle)! So, everytime I go out and I have my bag, I always bring at least 1 bottle of water (unless I miss it ). The perk of this action is that when I am running out of water, all I need to do is just to find a toilet or a galley to refill my bottle .

(2) Book(s)/Notebook : Usually, when I have to bring a bag, it means that I have a class or something. Of course it means that I have to bring my book/notebook.

(3) Pens : I always prepare myself with at least a pen, just in case I have to write something down.

(4) Sunglasses : Well, with this weather, I always bring my sunglasses. When I am outdoor and it is sunny out there, it is more comfortable to wear sunglasses  Hmm, actually, this one lies somewhere between Category 1 and 2, as sometimes even though my bag is not with me, I still bring my sunglasses, haha.

(5) Tissue : Those who have hanged out a bit with me know that I have a little bit of mild OCD. Not a bad one though, just a really mild one as sometimes I feel extremely reluctant to touch food bare hand. So, I bring a tissue for just in case … .

(6) Umbrella : This thing is not always in my bag. But if I remember to bring it, I do bring it. Just like what and old Indonesian saying: “Sedia payung sebelum hujan.” (Bring an umbrella before it is raining).

Hmm, basically that is it! Quite a lot? Hmm, I don’t know, maybe, but I believe most of them are quite necessary and common, right?

Category 1

My Pocket Camera

Category 2

BAHASA INDONESIA

Aku dapat PR lagi dari Bu Guru Ndutyke, kali ini tentang barang-barang yang selalu aku bawa kalau ke luar rumah. Aku akan menulisnya dalam dua kategori, barang yang selalu aku bawa, dan barang yang selalu aku bawa kalau aku lagi membawa tas.

Kategori 1 : Barang yang selalu aku bawa (kecuali kalo lupa )

(1) Hape : Walau di Belanda ini penggunaan hp-ku sudah menurun secara signifikan, tapi masih saja deh nggak bisa pergi kalau nggak bawa hape. Tapi memang kadang-kadang masih berguna sih, misalnya ketika aku naik kereta yang agak jauhan dikit, kan aku bisa pake hapeku untuk mengakses Facebook atau internet

(2) Dompet : Jelas lah ya Kan uang, kartu-kartu, dan kartu ID-ku ada disana semua. Keluar tanpa membawa dompet = mimpi buruk!

(3) Kunci-kunci : Ini nih yang agak menjebak soalnya kadang aku kelupaan membawa kunciku, walau terjadinya sangat jarang sekali sih. Masalahnya adalah, apartemenku ini memiliki kunci otomatis. Kaya di beberapa hotel gitu, dimana kalau kita menutup pintu, otomatis langsung terkunci. Makanya kalo lupa bawa kunci kan bisa berabe, hahaha… .

(4) Jam tangan : Ini kayanya sudah menjadi semacam kebiasaan deh. Kalo keluar rumah dan nggak memakai jam tangan itu akan menimbulkan perasaan seperti ada yang kurang. Walau kadang memang sih aku juga lupa memakai jam tangan

(5) MP3 player dan earphone : Ketika aku keluar sendirian, rasanya lebih nyaman gitu memasang earphone di telinga sambil mendengarkan musik. Entah bagaimana, ini sepertinya sudah agak menjadi kebiasaan deh, semenjak aku pindah ke Eropa.

Dan tentu saja

(6) Kamera Saku : Ini adalah satu gadget yang sekarang sudah masuk dalam daftar harus-dibawa-ku. Nggak tahu sih, rasanya tuh membawa kamera itu penting juga, soalnya kan kita nggak tahu kapan hal-hal terjadi di sekitar kita kan? Mungkin aja ketika aku lagi keluar, eh ada hal yang jarang atau penting yang terjadi dan dengan kamera ada di tangan, aku bisa mengabadikannya! Atau ketika aku lagi ke luar dan tiba-tiba nemu sesuatu yang indah/menarik (yang tidak disangka sebelumnya), kan jadi bisa difoto tuh.

Musim dingin saja:

(7) Sarung tangan dan Syal : alasannya jelas lah ya, musim dingin itu dingin!!

Kategori 2 : Ketika aku juga membawa tas

(1) Botol Air : Sistem penyulingan air di Belanda itu sudah bagus sekali. Pada dasarnya, kita bisa loh minum dari air keran atau mana pun (kecuali kalo ada peringatannya). Masalahnya, kalau kita nggak bawa botol sendiri dan kita akhirnya beli minum di supermarket/minimarket/mesin penjual minuman, harganya mahal juga (berkisar dari 1 euro sampe 2,5 euro untuk sebotol ukuran 500 mL)! Jadi, setiap kali aku keluar, aku setidaknya selalu membawa 1 botol air deh (kecuali kalau lupa ). Keuntungan lainnya adalah, kalau kehabisan air, kan tinggal ke toilet ato cari dapur buat isi ulang air minum .

(2) Buku/Notes : Biasanya, kalau aku harus membawa tas, artinya aku akan ada kelas atau apa lah. Tentu ini artinya aku harus membawa buku/catatanku dong.

(3) Pulpen : Aku selalu bersiap-siap dengan setidaknya satu pulpen deh, siapa tahu aku harus menulis sesuatu.

(4) Sunglasses : Yah, dengan cuaca yang kaya gini, kalo keluar selalu bawa sunglasses deh. Soalnya kalo lagi di luar dan cuaca cerah, kan lebih nyaman kalo pake sunglasses, sekalian gaya :D Hmm, yang satu ini sebenarnya ada di antara Kategori 1 dan 2 sih, soalnya kadang walau nggak bawa tas pun aku juga bawa sunglasses, haha.

(5) Tisu : Mereka yang pernah jalan keluar denganku tahu deh kalau aku memiliki satu kasus kecil dan ringan dari OCD. Nggak parah sih, cuma ringan saja koq soalnya rasanya aku merasa sangat tidak mau gitu untuk menyentuh makanan dengan tangan ini. Makanya deh, aku membawa tisu, siapa tahu dibutuhkan … .

(6) Payung : Ini nggak selalu ada di dalam tasku sih. Hanya, kalau aku nggak lupa, ya baru deh aku bawa. Kan seperti pepatah lama tuh: “Sedia payung sebelum hujan.”

Hmm, dasarnya, itu aja sih! Banyakkah? Hmm, mungkin juga, nggak tahu deh, hanya saja aku rasa sih kebanyakan dari barang-barang di atas toh lumayan penting dan normal-normal saja kan?