Friday, November 13, 2009

Most Received Comment

After being more or less two weeks home, let’s check out some comments I received the most.

The most received comment is “Ouw, you’ve gained some weight (a.k.a. become fatter)”.
My response has always been a “yes” plus a smile since I do know my cheeks have become so round.
I also DO want to get rid of few kilos but come on, people! :P I am not that fat…;)

I wonder now. It is still one and a half month to go, here at home, where all those missed foods are available easily.
Imagine, I will receive the same comment when I’m back in Amsterdam! LOL. :D

Well, well, at least when I’m back I will get the opposite of my third most received comment, “You’re fairer (skin color) now”.

He he he..

________________________
By Fatter Fairer Dian

Friday, October 23, 2009

Umur dan Selera

Minggu yang lalu sy sempat baca dikit satu novel Indonesia, yang saya dengar keberadaannya (yang sepertinya positif) dari FB.

Namun ternyata setelah membaca beberapa halaman, saya sudah kehilangan minat.

Terlalu mudah ditebak.
Karakter dua tokoh utamanya juga terlalu... apa ya..
You know lah.. seperti di kebanyakan roman, jelas bermasalah tapi entah bagaimana brilian.

Saya jadi bosan.

Tapi lantas sempat berpikir, duw, had I been younger, I might have liked this.

Wekekekek.. he he..

Might have I?
Mungkin iya, mungkin tidak. (sepertinya tetap tidak, tapi mungkin masih sanggup baca sampai selesai :))

Tapi saya memang sudah tua. (Hiks :p)
Dan umur berpengaruh sedikit banyak ke selera.

Jadi ingat majalah Annida (tau, kan?)
Dulu waktu SMA, saya hobi banget baca majalah ini. Hampir selalu beli.
Tapi setelah mulai kuliah, na-a, tidak tertarik lagi.

Wel, wel, wel, usia bertambah, selera berubah.
Tapi kok, cuma selera tertentu saja ya.

Karena novel2 yang mayoritas konsumsi anak-anak dan remaja, saya masih suka.
Buku "Harry Potter" dan serial TV "Avatar: The Last Air Bender" adalah dua diantaranya.

Jadi kesimpulannya, umur dan selera cuma punya hubungan korelasi, bukan regresi. :p

Dan saya akhiri catatan ini dengan harapan bisa baca The Kite Runner Desember Akhir nanti.
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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Nyang Enak di Belanda (1)

Si Bioa, teman Dian satu desa nun jauh di sana, suatu hari bertanya.
Bioa : "Yan, apa enaknya tinggal di Belanda?"
Dian : "Enak, Bioa. Bisa lari pagi buta tanpa kuatir dikejar anjing."
Bioa : "...." (terdiam dengan wajah yang seolah berkata,"please, as if THAT is important")

He he he...
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Terinspirasi komentar temen yang menyinggung tentang anjing. :D :P

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Muslimah disini

Euforia Ramadhan saya cukup tinggi tahun ini sampai-sampai saya sharing tradisi bermaafan kita menjelang Ramadhan ke teman2 internasional.
Saya juga sempat berkata ke salah satu teman non muslim disini beberapa hari yang lalu, kurang lebih begini,
"Indonesia itu tempat terbaik untuk muslim!"

Iya kan, Indonesia itu surga untuk para muslim.
Pendapat ini mungkin bias, karena saya toh cuma punya pengalaman di satu negara ini, selain Indonesia tercinta.
Tapi dari apa yang saya baca dan dari perbincangan dengan teman muslimah dari negara lain, saya percaya Indonesia paling nyaman untuk muslim.

Bepergian kemanapun bebas kapan saja, tidak perlu menjadwalkan keluar di waktu antara shalat, karena masjid dan mushalla ada dimana-mana, bahkan mall.

Bisa mampir ke hampir semua restoran tanpa kuatir makanannya halal atau tidak.

Kebebasan memilih untuk taat atau tidak, misal bebas memilih memakai jilbab. (Mungkin banyak yang tidak setuju, alias ingin kalau jilbab diwajibkan. Kalau menurut saya, yang ini harusnya peraturan wajib dalam keluarga. Ortu yang harus meneladankan lalu mewajibkan, tidak perlu negara.)

KeTIDAKbebasan untuk melakukan maksiat dahsyat :), misalnya minum alkohol, obat-obatan,dan pergaulan bebas.

Muslimah tidak terdiskriminasi, boleh beraktivitas seproduktif dan sekolah setinggi langit.

Atmosfir Ramadhan yang begitu ngangenin.

Kemudahan belajar Islam. Kita hampir selalu diingatkan "lingkungan" untuk menjadi muslim yang baik.

Nah, bagaimana dengan disini?
Not that bad..
Tentu, hampir semua hal dari daftar diatas tidak ditemukan disini.
Tapi, selain tidak terdengarnya suara azan 5 kali sehari, muslim bisa beribadah dan menunjukkan identitasnya dengan bebas disini.
Jilbab dan sebagainya tidak dilarang.
Sholat dimanapun orang nggak peduli. Yah, nggak dimanapun "dimanapun" sih, tapi kurang lebih kita bebas untuk nyari tempat kosong di gedung atau di taman, terus gelar sajadah dan sholat.

Banyak imigran muslim (maroko, Turki) disini, jadi bahan makanan halal gampang dicari.

Banyak orang Indonesia, jadi pengajian-pengajian komunitas Indonesia tidaklah begitu susah dicari.

Mungkin perbedaan yang paling terasa adalah, menjaga keimanan dan meningkatkan keislaman haruslah menjadi usaha mandiri dan teratur.
Sangatlah mudah menjauh dari Islam disini, karena toh,tidak ada yang peduli.

-----------------------
A'dam 22-08-09
Menunggu waktu sahur.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Teori Relativitas pada Hubungan antar Manusia

Ada banyak hal di dunia ini dimana relativitas berlaku.
Saya rasa salah satunya adalah hubungan antar manusia.

Pertama, hubungan pertemanan.
Si A yang berteman dekat dengan si B atau C, akan memasang kacamata relativitas untuk memandang temannya si B atau C.
Betapapun jahatnya atau buruknya si B atau C, kacamata relativitas tadi akan menjadikan hal tersebut tak terlihat di mata A.
Walaupun B atau C berlaku jahat atau bergosip terhadap teman lain (yang tidak termasuk teman dekat), sebutlah D, kacamata relativitas tadi juga akan mendorong si A untuk memihak B atau C.
B atau C bisa dibilang sempurna di mata A.

Kedua, hubungan cinta.
Well, walaupun saya belum punya bukti empiris pribadi, he he ;), kurasa kalimat : "Kalau jatuh cinta, tahi sapi serasa coklat" ada benarnya.
Cinta akan memasang kacamata relativitas di muka "korban"nya. (ha ha, kok korban ya? Awardee, deh ;))

Ketiga, hubungan benci.
Ketika seseorang dilukai orang lain, pun rasa sakit dan luka itu akan memasangkan kacamata relativitas di muka orang tersebut.
Dia menjadi mampu untuk mencari sejuta hal yang menunjukkan keburukan orang yang melukainya.
Padahal, semasa hubungan mereka baik-baik saja, misalnya (terlepas dari apakah mereka pernah berteman), aku yakin hampir semua dari sejuta hal tersebut sama sekali tidak nampak buruk.
Kacamata relativitas membuat dia buta (atau paling tidak mentolerir) hal tersebut, tapi di situasi berbeda, menonjolkan semua hal tersebut.

---------------------------------

Saya sedang kecewa berat sekarang terhadap seseorang, yang saya anggap teman.
Jadi contoh ketiga sedang berlaku pada saya.
Saya menulis teori relativitas di hubungan antar manusia ini, karena saya tidak mau membiarkan luka dan kecewa saya memasangkan kacamata relativitas itu di muka saya.
Na-a, no way.
Sempat terpasang, tapi saya bisa berkata sekarang, saya berhasil melepaskannya.
Sekarang, Alhamdulillah.

I won't be a horrible person just because someone did horrible things to me.
Forgiving for me always take time, but eventually I'll do that.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

What a pleasant visit!

My visit today that was intended to be short turned out to be a more-than-one-hour conversation.
I went to see the room that is offered to me from the university and met a muslim sister there.
She is from Pakistan and was so nice!

I really enjoyed the conversation. We talked about how muslims are in Pakistan (and of course in Indonesia) and how it is like with being and showing one's identity as a muslim here.

I learned some lessons today.
- Tidak sedikit muslim disini menyembunyikan identitas muslim mereka. Mereka tidak pernah menyatakan bahwa mereka muslim dan berlaku seolah bukan muslim, misalnya minum alkohol, makan babi (dua hal yang mayoritas orang sini tahu tidak akan dilakukan oleh muslim).
- Tidak bersalaman dengan lawan jenis sudah menjadi budaya (bukan hanya perintah agama) di Pakistan. Bersalaman dg lawan jenis merupakan issue besar disana, mungkin lebih besar daripada memakai rok mini di depan umum. Kalo kamu bersalaman dg lawan jenis, kamu akan dibicarakan orang-orang. Di Indonesia kebalikannya, kan? Kita (menurutku) masih ragu dan enggan untuk berkata atau berisyarat bahwa kita tidak mau bersalaman dg lawan jenis dan kita akan dibicarakan orang kalo kita tidak mau bersalaman dg lawan jenis.
- Knowing Qur'an by heart. It's enough with just my telling you that I feel ashamed of myself. Hapalanku yang hilang... Duh.., astaghfirullah..
- In Pakistan, wearing hijab is not a must in ALL areas. I thought it is a must there so I am wrong. I confused Pakistan with Afghanistan.

In summary, her talk has reminded me to keep learning Islam.

She praised me for wearing hijab here but I felt ashamed of myself because even though she does not wear hijab yet (May Allah give her the blessing and strength and courage to be able to wear it soon) I think she is more practicing than I am.
She has re-raised my spirit to learn to be a good practicing muslim.

Alhamdulillah...
for this meeting with a muslim sister.
Alhamdulilllah...
for this reminder for me that to be a good muslim is a constant and conscious effort.
Alhamdulillah...
for burning the flame of the spirit of learning Islam and the spirit of being a good moslem.
Alhamdulillah..
for this simple happiness.

I biked home smiling. :D

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Drama seri TV Jepang

Barusan saya nonton bagian terakhir dari episode 1 drama seri Jepang Atashinchi-no-danshi.
Walaupun saya cuma nonton sekeping bagian dari episode pertama, dari deskripsi drama seri tersebut , saya bisa dapat gambaran temanya. Yang menarik buat saya adalah apakah drama seri ini tipikal jepang?
Semua tokoh (sepertinya akan, krn sy belum nonton) digambarkan punya ke"ekstrim"an yg unik dan kemudian akan dibahas satu persatu per episode. Monologue2 dgn kata2 yg, let say "inspirational" akan terlontar, terutama menjelang akhir episode.

Jadi ingat Gokusen, drama seri yg direkomendasikan adik sy, krn temanya ttg guru.
Di Gokusen, tokoh utamanya guru (matematika,lho! :D) yg mengajar di sebuah SMA dg reputasi jelek. Si guru diberikan tugas menjadi wali kelas yg murid2nya masing2 memiliki ke"ekstrim"an yg unik.
Ke"ekstrim"an ini kemudian akan dibahas satu persatu per episode. Monologue2 dgn kata2 yg, let say "inspirational" akan terlontar, terutama menjelang akhir episode.

Lho, saya mengulangi kalimat2 sy sebelumnya ya? :D
Sengaja, karena saya ingin tau, deskripsi sy ttg drama Jepang diatas betul-kah?

What do you think?

P.S.
Saya khatam Gokusen. Kalau dibilang suka, hmm, suka-lah, cuma, seperti komentar saya ke adik saya, things are exaggerated there. Berlebihan. Dibesar-besarkan. Jadi bagi saya tidak membumi. (Dan tidak ada bukti meyakinkan kalo si guru adalah guru matematika. He he he:P)
Pun, Gokusen 2 tidak berhasil menarik minat saya. :D

Friday, May 15, 2009

What makes a good person?

Apa sih kriteria untuk melabeli seseorang "orang yg baik" atau "orang yg buruk/tidak baik"? Apakah kalau tidak pernah menyakiti perasaan orang lain?

Penekanannya disini ada di frase "tidak pernah".
Apakah kalau orang yg setiap salah kemudian menyesal tidak bisa dilabeli dg "a good person"?
Apakah kalau orang yang melontarkan kalimat2 yg ternyata menyakiti orang lain kemudian meminta maaf tidak bisa dilabeli dg "a good person"?

Mungkin "tidak pernah" terlalu ekstrim, karena mungkin ada orang yg kontrol dirinya cukup bagus sehingga tidak penah menyakiti perasaan orang lain. Jadi bagaimana kalau pertanyaannya diganti.
Apakah kalau now and then (kadang-kadang) seseorang melontarkan kalimat yg menyinggung tapi selalu kemudian merasa bersalah dan meminta maaf dilabeli "orang yg tidak baik"? Tidak layak dianggap "orang yang baik"?

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

If Only

Doing my assignment, I came to reading the historical 'battle' of Newton and Leibniz.

Several thoughts came into my mind.
1. If only Newton did not stupidly refuse to meet Leibniz, what will we learn in our calculus? Newton should meet people from Open Source community. :D He had his reason but well, knowledge should be free (free in terms in Open Source).

2. The England society was kind of cruel to Leibniz by worshipping Newton. Literaly worshipping him, I guess, as of refusing knowledge from outside England. I believe Leibniz was free of plagiarism of Newton's work and I think two great minds working on the same subject can lead to the same discovery. I am particularly sad to know how Leibniz's life ended. Again, how ironic it is compared to Newton's.

3. This thing reminds me of Piaget and Vygotsky. If only they met. Hmm..., it's amazing now that we take internet for granted.

4. Open source against Microsoft? He he... Not exactly relevant. But the thought does cross my mind. :)

Summing up, these all are just some flashing thought of mine.
We can't change history. Even if we can, changing it will not necessarily lead to a better 'now'.
I wonder though....

Friday, April 10, 2009

I have a bird!


One day, I went to Ooster Park with the intention to feed some birds. I brought several slices of bread and when I got there I looked around for some nice spot with some "nice" birds. I didn't want to go to the bird-crowded area. You know what I mean, the one you see when you enter the park from tram 9 stop.

After a while, I decided a location. There was a fat bird near the water so at first I threw away several bits of bread. After some bits of breads I wanted to see if the birds (there were two now since his/her friend came along) would take bits of bread directly from my hand.
The friend (slimmer) was too afraid but the first bird after some hesitation and my encouragement did it.
He/she took the bread directly from my hand! Yay!

To make the story short, today I didn't feel like going home so I bought some chocolate bread and zalm salade and ate it in the Ooster park. My fave chair was taken so I took the nearest one to my fave and started eating.
Huaa!
A bird came to me, the same fat bird was walking towards me! Close to my feet!
After recovering from my happy shock, I took some bits of my bread and fed him/her from my hand.
S/he took it without slightest fear or hesitation.

SO, I declare now that s/he is MY bird.
Ha! :D
I don't have a cat, but I have a bird. I cannot touch it (yet, i hope :D ) but that's fine.

I have a bird. Oh, wow! :)
Have to think of his/her name. Oh, and whether it's a she or a he. :D

My bird! I like the sound. Here's the pic.

P.S. You might say it might not be the same bird. Nooo, I am sure it is. It's unusually fat and I have two other proofs. First, the second visit was in the same place and second, his/her friend (yes, that slimmer friend) also came along after some time and was still too afraid to take bread from my hand. Yup, the same bird indeed.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Spring!!

biked around few days ago..


in the morning, of course...

made some pictures in the Ooster Park..


failed to capture the buds and blooming colourful flowers though .. :(

Cats Care

My tom cat, Tommy, died last year.
I took him to the vet but I wish I had read the article in this link.

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/pets/how-to-treat-a-cat-that-has-an-abscess.htm

I think he survived this abscess but then he got ill again and I wasn't there to take him to the vet.
I was out of town and so..
How I still blame some people and myself for this!

Monday, March 09, 2009

"Cycling Dinner" at Sarphati

We had a "cycling" dinner last night.
No, it has nothing to do with bikes.
The title refers to your having starter, main course, and dessert at different rooms.

I prepared two desserts : klepon (Ha!) and banana pudding. Here's how it went.

It's always nice if people like what you have made and klepon (my second time serving it to non-Indonesians) never fails me. :)
I put too much water in the dough though, so the result was too soft. Fortunately, the weather here (is it?) solved the problem. By the time the klepon has to be served, it has hardened a bit to almost perfect hardness (not too soft, not too hard).

The banana pudding was not bad, but it wasn't really good. I don't really like it. I think the taste depends much on the quality of the thick cream and finding the cream was not too easy. I looked at Albert Heijn and found slagroom without 471 but I decided to see if I could find the cream in a Turkish shop.
I did finally bought the cream in the Turkish shop (more expensive than AH's cream) but I think it didn't taste good. Maybe it's not the thick cream I was supposed to look for. I don't know, I can't understand what's written on it. Maybe I should've used the slagroom from AH, it might make the pudding taste better.
Here's the link to the recipe (in Bahasa Indonesia), if anyone is interested.

http://www.resepnugraha.net/resep/detail/?no=290

This recipe was not my first choice. I am not used to food with creams. I am a humble Indonesian from a simple family. Our cookies don't use thick cream.

I do want to make a fruit pudding but actually I prefer Pumpkin pudding :
http://gudangresepku.blogspot.com/2007/12/puding-labu-parang.html

However, this recipe needs a steamer, which I don't have.

I should've just made it as a usual pudding though. You know, boil it with many other things. :)
The thought crossed my mind but..........

Well, I'll make it for myself. I already have the pumpkin like a week ago. :)

Anyway, upon reflecting (What a word! :D),
why do I bother cooking for such an (sorry) unimportant thing?
Well, meeting your neighbours through a dinner is nice. I like this way of meeting friends.
We can eat (He he) and TALK peacefully and decently.
I don't like parties here (There is a party after the cycling dinner which I didn't attend) because it involves much drinking and just because I'm not into that kind of thing.

One more thing, I just like to try out recipes. Just like Lebaran day, this dinner gives me an occasion and reason to try out recipes.
I'll definitely make a pumpkin pudding. :)

Friday, March 06, 2009

Lend me your wings, Birds. I want to Fly home!

Ah, aku ingin pulang.
Kakakku satu-satunya insyaAllah menikah dalam hitungan jam dan aku tidak bisa datang.

Ah, aku ingin terbang pulang.
Tak bisa mendarat pun tak mengapa, cukup melayang di luar jendela dan memandang.

Ah, aku tak bisa pulang.
Sedihnya tak kepalang tapi do'aku semoga datang.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Sadness Management

Being sad is part of our life as human.
Sometimes we're sad, sometimes we're happy.
I am sad now, and am thinking of some cure.

It could be a talk with a good friend.
It could be strolling in a park.
It could be nibbling a pack of chocolate or whatever one's favorite food.
It could be writing down all your feelings.
It could be smelling fresh fragrant roses.
It could be shedding town some tears for some minutes.
It could be staring at the night sky.
It could be (window-)shopping in shopping streets.
It could be reading the Qur'an.
It could be standing outside and feeling the cold in your face.
It could be stroking your beloved cat while telling him/her your sadness.
It could be doing new (not necessarily crazy) adventurous things.
It could be praying to God.
It could be doing some gardening.

But maybe, maybe this next one will be the most effective cure of all.
It could also be reminding ourselves of life after death.
Sometimes we love this world too much and everything that goes against our wish sadden us.
Sometimes we love this world too much and all we could grieve about is what we fail to have.
Sometimes we love this world too much and forget that we have another world to face after death.

So let's just be sad for a while and then stop.
Especially when what makes us sad only matters while we're living this mortal world.

Now, I want to turn off all lights, open my window wide, lay on my bed, stare at the night sky, and be sad for a while..

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Definisi "Macet"

Apa yang harus kita lakukan kalau pikiran "macet"?

"Cari tahu dulu penyebabnya", begitu mungkin kata anda.

Tapi bagaimana kalau saya katakan tidak ada penyebabnya?

Tiba-tiba saja pikiran kita macet. Bekerja sih, tapi tidak mau diperintah oleh pikiran sadar Anda.

"Tidak mungkin dong, macet tanpa alasan", anda mungkin berkata.

Dan saya tidak bisa menjawab, karena sebenarnya saya pun setuju dengan anda.

Pasti ada alasannya, hanya saja saya tidak tahu pasti apa. Atau tahu tapi pura-pura tidak tahu.

Entahlah.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Belajar Mengambil Keputusan

Mengambil keputusan selalu saja merupakan masalah yang tidak ringan bagiku.
Takut salah, ragu-ragu, bolak-balik, plin-plan, sangat tergantung pada pendapat orang lain, sampai akhirnya meminta orang lain untuk mengambilkan keputusan buatku sering kali kualami.
Kadang aku benar-benar benci pada diri sendiri. Sudah setua ini, tapi masih juga belum dewasa.
[Halah, benci pada diri sendiri, my another issue. :) ]

Jadi, aku putuskan untuk ... well..., just do it. Make a decision and then learn to cope with whatever results I will get.

So I did.

I decided to take the 200 euros Dutch-course at INTT-UvA, even though I just heard that there is a free Dutch course provided by a foundation and the municipality.
Even though I will need to use that 200 euros to save for a ticket home.
Aku sudah bolak-balik memikirkan hal ini.
Ada pro dan kontra yang tentu udah masuk pertimbangan. (I won't tell it here)
Apa keputusan ini tepat? I don't know.
I have decided and I'll bear the consequences.
Kalo ternyata tidak tepat, aku putuskan untuk yah... menjadikan kesalahan ini sebagai pembelajaran.

I decided to not take the Applied Statistics course that I'm interested in.
Lagi, aku jungkir balik hanya untuk memutuskan hal ini. (Can you believe it?)
I really want it. I do!
But then I decided I don't need it. So I let it go.
Lagi, ada pro dan kontra yang aku pertimbangkan.
Lagi, apa keputusan ini tepat? I don't know.
Aku masih kecewa akan keputusan ini. (Yes, I am dissappointed, even though it was my decision)
But again, I have decided and I'll bear the consequences. And I'll learn from whatever comes out of this decision.

Hmm, mengambil keputusan selalu saja menjadi masalah yang tidak ringan bagiku.

So I decided to just... do it. Decide things for myself. For my life. Not depend too much on others.

Okay now, to end this not-so-useful-writing, here is a nice quote.

A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion

Chinese Proverbs quotes