Pyramid's Dirty Little Secret

Taichung's Pyramid

Pyramid? The triangular-shaped structure located in Giza, Egypt? 不對! The pyramid that I meant is the one located in Taichung, Taiwan. Eh? Is there any PYRAMID in Taiwan? Yes, there is. Well, it's not the real-sturdy 'construction' as the real pyramid, one of the seven wonders of the world, though. Nevertheless, let's just consider them as a twinning. So, what's the creepy story behind this well-known Taichung landmark?


As we all know that there are more than 160.000 (to date) Indonesian migrant workers who are tempting fate in Taiwan. Some of them are working in the central part of Taiwan, -Hsinchu-Changhua-Taichung-. Every Sunday, if they are lucky enough to get a permission from their boss (老闆; lǎobǎn), they will hanging out and mingling in the downtown with their friends. This what so-called Pyramid is their 'meeting point'. Before heading to the shopping centers or Indonesian stores, a swirl mass of them can be seen at Pyramid. 


Last week was definitely not my first time to go to Taichung, to be exact to Pyramid. But it was without doubt one of the most spine-chilling moments, yet. Albeit you are a taekwondoin, you'll still goosebumping if you're facing this kind of situation I'm going to tell. 

The swarm remnants : alcoholic beverages, food packagings, plastics, etc

As the time went by, the swarm of people in front of me were getting bigger. FYI, it wasn't an ordinary people's swarm. It was a drunk-gambling-babbling swarms. Why didn't I move to another place? Well, the answer is because I need to stay on that specific place since I was 'guarding' zakat booth. So well, yeah. The tipsy guys kept walking back and forth. And every time they passed me by, I got goosebumps. Oh my...I really felt as if I was in the lion's den and ready to get munched Y-Y. Imagine you're facing the same situation. Finally, when the sun almost set and one of the drunk guy fainted, the swarms were thinned out. Whew...alhamdulillah~~~


That's it? Well, not exactly. When I got ready to wrap up my 'work', one of migrant workers approached me and said "Kok berani-beraninya sih ke sini, Mbak. Di sini ini sangat berbahaya. Pekerja2 Thailand, Indonesia dan Vietnam itu sering berantem dan terkadang tusuk-tusukan di sini". WHATTTTT???!!! #almost fainted. Ya Allah...thank you for protecting me >,< ~~~

冬瓜茶砖

Source : http://tinyurl.com/3wvk742

Dōngguā cházhuān***. Winter melon rock sugar. And...what the heck is that :D? It's a mixed-simmered-molded-refrigerated winter melon (*beligo, in Bahasa Indonesia) plus brown sugar and black sugar. At first, this brown-blackish block-shaped stuff didn't attract my eyes. But then, one of my friends made a glass of drink out of that stuff. And this picky girl LOVED it :D! If you like to buy drinks at Taiwan's tea stores, you'll almost always find this what so-called dōngguā chá (冬瓜茶). It has a distinctive aroma which definitely can indulge your nose buds. Give it a try or you might want to consider this 冬瓜茶砖 as a gift for your loving ones at home :D

***冬瓜茶砖 in the nearby store. A block costs only NTD35

Halal Card for Muslims in Taiwan

Copy-paste this article below, save it as a document on your smartphone/tablet or simply print it out and you'll survive while living in Taiwan. Trust me :D.

--------

Halal Card from
NCTU's Prayer Room

你好，我是穆斯林（回教徒），因為我的宗教信印，所以

Nǐ hǎo, wǒ shì mùsīlín (huí jiàotú), yīnwèi wǒ de zōngjiào xìn yìn, suǒyǐ :

Hello! I'm a Muslim. Because of my religion :

◆ 我不吃豬肉及任何豬製品，如培根、火腿及含豬油食物，也不吃含血的食物，如豬血糕。

   Wǒ bù chī zhū ròu jí rènhé zhū zhìpǐn, rú péigēn, huǒtuǐ jí hán zhū yóu shíwù, yě bù chī hán xuè de shíwù, rú zhū xiě gāo.

I cannot eat pork and any kind of food ingredients with pork, for example bacon, ham and pork oil.  Besides that, I cannot eat blood-based foods such as pig’s blood cake.

.

◆    我不能吃含酒精的食物及飲料。

     Wǒ bùnéng chī hán jiǔjīng de shíwù jí yǐnliào.

I cannot eat any kind of foods or drinks that contain alcohol.

◆    如果您必須用炒過豬肉的鍋子來炒我的食物，麻煩請您將鍋子清洗乾淨後再炒。

    Rúguǒ nín bìxū yòng chǎoguò zhū ròu de guōzi lái chǎo wǒ de shíwù, máfan qǐng nín jiāng guōzi qīngxǐ gānjìng hòu zài chǎo.

If you have to use the pan that has been used to cook pork, please help me to clean up the pan before cooking (my order).

◆    我不能吃任何非伊斯蘭教屠宰方式的雞、鴨、鵝、牛、羊肉。

     Wǒ bùnéng chī rènhé fēi yīsīlán jiào túzǎi fāngshì de jī, yā, é, niú, yángròu.

I cannot eat any kind of animals' meats (chicken, duck, goose, beef, and mutton) which (animals) have been slaughtered with non-Islamic methods.


credits : Tina Chang for Chinese-English translation

TR-Pass, A Dirt-Poor Student's Savior in Taiwan

I forgot (to be exact) how many times I've been using TR-Pass in a habitual manner, this past few years. Too many times, I supposed XD~~~. Yes, this insanely cheap train ticket "destined" for students under age of 30 in Taiwan has always been my savior. Imagine you must continuously traveling in between cities, -not for leisure activities-, during a specific period of time. Well, it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg, though. But still, it's a pocket drainer. Hence, TR-Pass is such a win win solution for a dirt-poor student who doesn't mind spending hours of hours of their time in a local train, just like me :D. 

As I've ever posted before, Taiwan offers a tantalizing traveling options for students. The what so-called Youth Travel Card can always be a hocuspocus warrant to save your money. However, before can be categorized as an eligible TR-Pass buyer, you must register yourself at the "Information Visitor Center" (IVC) which can be spotted at some major train stations in Taiwan. After filling a form at IVC, you'll get a YTC (in a form of a key chain). Show your YTC, passport and student ID card to the ticket officer (in every train station here) and you'll be able to buy international students edition of TR-Pass (*shown on the image below, first row/above). Too lazy to bring passport and YTC ? Then, just buy a local students edition of TR-Pass (*shown on the image below, second row/below) by merely revealing your student ID card. Don't forget to tell the officer about which type of TR-Pass you want to buy; the 5-day, the 7-day, or the 10-day tickets. They cost NT$599, NT$799, and NT$1099, respectively. Trust me, the price is EXTREMELY CHEAP and REASONABLE. Okay, let me make an avouch comparison. A local train ticket price from Chiayi to Taipei is NT$390-something, thus, return ticket price will be nearly NT$800. Bus ticket is approx. NT$100 cheaper, but I hate to travel by bus. So, well...yeah...it's a personal preference. I usually go in between cities from Chiayi to Zhong Li and then Taipei, sometimes to Hualien and then head back to Taichung or directly to Chiayi, or sometimes to Tainan or Kaohsiung. Just count how much money I must spend if I don't buy TR-Pass @_@~~~. Counting money always makes me dizzy =)).

All in all, with your personally selected TR-Pass, you can travel all around Taiwan by three types of designated trains (*local train, local express train, and chu kuang train [see here for "trains in Taiwan"]) for unlimited times during the validity period of time (5, 7 or 10 days) of your TR-Pass. You can choose direct route by get on until get off on the same train or manipulate your route by changing trains. The second one is undeniably a lot more challenging and less boring. I usually choose this mode :D. So, for example, I want to go to Taipei. I'll get on from Chiayi train station and get off at Taichung train station, continue my journey to Miaoli, then Zhong Li and finally get off in Taipei. Fun isn't it^^? Ergo, have an earthy way of traveling in Taiwan ^^!

Moved

I'm moved. Touched. Seeing my dearest brother standing like that while cheering up his students in one of the school's events, still looks MAGICAL to me *blowing nose. Life is definitely full of mystery. We will never know what will happen in the future. As for my brother's life, it is indeed full of surprise. Graduated, married, worked in one of the syari'a banks and ended up teaching in the nearby SDIT. Who would have ever thought that he will be a father at the age of 23? Who would have ever thought that he will turn out to be a teacher? Three things I MUST learn from him are a DECENT, REALISTIC and FULL OF DEDICATION's figure he's constantly shown. I'm so proud of you, dearest brother...I always do^^.

Finally, I would like to wait and see things await me in the future, as Allah already planned. I would like to stay khusnudzon to Allah for those things :D.

Affectionate

Source : http://www.tychb.gov.tw

B : Papa, selamat hari ayah^^. Love you, Dad*** :*
P : Subhanallah...ternyata orang Taiwan menghargai ayah. Terima kasih, anakku.

^^My father is definitely doesn't know that there's a father's day in Indonesia celebrated every November 12 XD~~~

-----

Yesterday was father's day in Taiwan. Unlike many other countries that celebrate this day on the third Sunday of June, Taiwan government proclaimed August 8 as the day to honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Why it has to be August 8? Because "father" in Chinese language (爸爸) pronounced as "bàba" which happens to have the same pronunciation as "eight" (八; bā). Hence, every "八八" or "day 8, month 8" (= August 8) people in Taiwan celebrate father's day.

Nonetheless, yesterday, I was kind of "tempted" to text my father and expressed my longing for him :D. Honestly, I become "cheesy"*** (*better be read : "affectionate") after I'm getting closer to Astri. Previously, saying or texting three words as in "I love you" or "I miss you" to my parents, -two most important persons on earth-, still sounds ticklish to my ears. I used to think that it's a very tacky (*norak) way to express my feelings. I'd rather "act" than "selling words". It's always been my nature. There are a lot of times that I couldn't express my feelings through words too. So well, yeah...it just happened to be like that^^. Despite the fact that I was being affectionately raised by my parents, I'm growing up as a girl with unnecessary amount of dignity XD. All in all, I'm getting realized that those kind of "cheesiness" is somehow NECESSARY when it comes to CHERISHING precious people around us. Superfluous dignity must be thrown away. Yeah...alrite then. Let's be more affectionate^^!

Absurd

Today is the very first time in my whole Taiwan's life when I spent my just-being-refilled cellphone credits all at once, just to call my brother and ended up insulted by him =p.

G : Hey, Gema udah sengaja pulang kantor cepat2 karena tadi ditelepon bahwa paketmu udah nyampe 

B : Huh? Paket apaan?

G : Itu, paket Taiwanmu, Mbak...yang jumbo beneran kaya' judul boxnya

B : Oh...hehehe. Syukurlah sudah sampai

G : Gema kira isinya sepeda lipatmu. Ternyata cuma buku2, baju2 dan "sampah2"mu *tiba2 mengalihkan pembicaraan karena putri kecilnya bangun* Keponakanmu cantik banget ini lho, Mbak. Ciku2..Shofiya ini Tante Bunga telepon, Nak

B : Hauuuu...Mbak Bunga pengeeeeeen banget pulang nguyel2 Shomay

G : Ya koe nak balik kapan bah, Mbak? Your homecoming still sounds very ABSURD to me

B : *knocked out* 

It was not the first he's talking that harsh to his big sister. I know he's almost always right, so I just kind of always listen to his sharp comments.

Am I really being that absurd? Am I being too selfish to my family? Do I look like a happy-go-lucky girl who doesn't want to go home a.s.a.p? The absurdity that my brother said has always become my these days' contemplation "theme". He's not the only one who said that. My father ever said that he's insanely missed me and always wants me to go home in no time. Milly also ever said that she didn't understand why I (who happened to be SMART in her "imagination" =p) haven't wrapped up my things here; that I missed too may family events and sort of it. Well, I completely understand that people's lives is full of choices. Either my life is. I chose this path, hence, I don't think I should questioned any of it. But, one thing for sure is, I guess I just got a new "provocation" to end everything here VERY SOON. Enough doing self-sacrifice for else. I...want...to...go...home ! I MUST GO HOME...

Chop-Chop Celebrity

Huh? Who the heck is that on the screen? Eeeehhh...is that M.E? Kekeke...that was my reaction when I saw my-very-self on everywhere's screens in my three separated campuses. Dayuummm...I never knew that my junky survival guide video would be campus-widely played like that =)). 

Speaking about being celebrity in this country, I always feel uneasy when it comes to walking-around-in-a-suppressible-manner. Ever since my arrival in Taiwan, I never once feel at ease. Hello, do you guys mind leaving me alone? I just want to be INVISIBLE! Aughhh...the wishes that simply couldn't be actualized in this place where EVERYONE seems insanely curious about a girl in a veil. 

It's my nature to be very-autistic when I'm walking; bending my head (while "ghodul bashor"-ing =p), walking very fast and listening to my music with nearly maximum volume =p. These are obviously describing my personality as errr...a nerd who hates being the center of attention. So, studying and living in this country sure is a torture to me because everywhere seems like an open catwalk Y-Y. *Sigh

Back to the video which successfully rises me to the top, -as a top-notch campus's celebrity =p. I like the quality of the video. The problem lies in it's dreadful audio, -my voice. Kekeke, the person who usually speaks in a flat inflections like me is not suitable to be an anchor, a host, an MC, whatever it is that needs a golden seiyuu-like voice. 

Selfish!

OK, this is an episode of curcol. The lame one. So what if it's lame?! Let me just continue typing. I just need to spill it out. *ini ngapain sih marah2 sendiri =))*

I...couldn't believe someone can be that-selfish. That specific person (TSP) is no doubt the "orang dalam". But of course, there are a lot of types of "orang dalam". The self-sacrificing one, the selfish one, the lazy one, the enthusiastic one, etc. Yeah...yeah...with that kind of title, this post will definitely disclose about the second one. So what if you already tied a knot? So what if you already wrapped up your thingy here? Let me ask you, what have you done for the you-know-what (in and out)? Where were you when others need your help -hiding at lab I supposed? Things that irritates me the most is TSP loves to brag ehm* (*in order to hide the gender) stuff on ehm social networking sites. Seems like it's hard for you to care for others' feelings, eh? 

I would have completely hate TSP if I don't remember one of my friends' saying "Ga usah iri sama orang kayak gitu. Kerjakanlah semuanya karena Allah ta'ala, insya Allah dirimu ga bakal capek hati". *contemplating

Jelly Belly's Every Flavor Jelly Beans

My adviser just came back from The States (the place where he brought my publication to be presented without the original author *smirk) and bought jelly beans back not for me. He just left that edible souvenir in the fridge and told everyone to serve ourselves whenever we want to have it. Oh...jelly beans, it's been ages since I meet you again. Xixixi. 

Whenever I saw the packaging and the whole jelly beans thingy, I always think about Bertie Botts's Every Flavor Beans. It couldn't be helped since jelly beans has a plentiful flavors just like the aforementioned imaginary product. But no worries, the real jelly beans being sold at today's store doesn't have liver, tripe, earwax, toe nails or vomit flavors as in Bertie Botts's =p. Things I want to highlight here is I am still very amazed with the evolution of flavor chemistry technology. How could the flavor chemists invented hundreds or even thousands of different flavors? It's just feel too awesome to me, the food science student herself^^.

Shomay

It was exactly a week ago when I heard this sudden morning call "Mbak..Mbak..keponakanmu udah lahir lho". It was Astri who woke me up. "Hah? Apa sih, De'?", I was still unconscious. "Ini lho...Gema udah upload fotonya di FB", explained her. "HUH???", my eyes widened and I jumped out of the bed. Xixixi. Both of us were in Taipei at that time and I was kind of exhausted after a whole round of rally-discussion with let's-consider-you-know-who :D. Thus, after subuh prayer I was sort of blacked out =p. Nevertheless, who would dare to keep blacking out when you get that kind of thrilling news^^?

WAAAAAHHHHHHHH~~~^o^!!! I felt like dancing around and flew back home after I saw my pretty-healthy niece^^. Awww...she's such a cutie-pie. I called my father just right after that and it was the MOST tear-jerking moment EVER. True. I've NEVER HEARD my father's voice trembling blissfully like that. Hauuuu Y-Y....*sob. I was kind of imagined that my family had a magical moment there, waiting for our newest addition family member to come to see the world. Honestly, until now, I still feel blue because I couldn't be there. *Sigh (whose fault do you think it is, eh?). Well, no regrets. No need to.


Back to the subject. A few weeks ago, I asked my brother who my niece's name is and he answered "Shofiya Khalisa" (Shofiya : limpid/clear; Khalisa : a sincere girl). But then, he (and his wife) changed the name after had a long discussion with another family members. They considered "Khalisa" as a way too common name. Hence, they changed it to "Maysun" (= beautiful girl). Kekeke...^^. When I asked my sister how we would call her, she said she already has a nickname for her; SHOMAY. SHOFI + MAY = SHOMAY. Haghaghag =)). Shomay, welcome to the family^^. Until you meet your aunty of yours later, OK? XOXOXO :* ['Ammah Bunga]

Hi, my name is Shofiya Maysun. I'm Malay-Javanese-Arab-Indian baby girl^^

DUGEM

Source : http://tinyurl.com/3lg99at

For me, "DUGEM", duduk gembira mengaji, is getting hard to conduct. Indeed I have my daily target of how many section of Qur'an I must read. But still, I'm getting drop behind that target. *Sigh. It will be worsen when the girl's monthly thingy is just over. I'll drop behind the target even furthest. *Triple sigh. The "funny" thing is, the same problem also happens to my "friends". Ehehehe...まさか?! Thank God a few weeks ago we've discussed this thing together to find the way out.

Here are four things we've come up during the discussion. First, set the target STRAIGHT. Second, FORCE ourself to the max. Third, CHOOSE the most comfortable time to read Qur'an (*after Subuh prayer is definitely my favorite time) and "bury ourself in" the Qur'an during that chosen time of ours. If we have one section of Qur'an's target per day, we must read 3/4 of it during that chosen time. Fourth, find an ADDITIONAL period of time to fulfill the rest of our daily target, for example during the idle time at lab (*so this will be 1/4 of the target). OK, I guess these are a good persuasion to our anti-dugem problem. Let's give it a try \m/! Bismillah, I hope it really works^^. 

Stranger Danger

Around a year ago, one of my acquaintance ever told me that he's using Boxbe to organize his inbox. At that time, he also apologized because this "say goodbye to email overload" service he was using was apparently became the "mastermind" of a bunch of stranded e-mails. He didn't realize that most of important e-mails were marked as spam on his inbox.  Well, seemingly, the free spam filter works well to seep through the spams, as well as the non-spams. Alas, he missed many information. Thanks to Boxbe, eh? At that exact moment, we were dealing with "the most phenomenon" int'l conference preps, btw. So, that kind of situation surely sucks. 

In the aforementioned case, I was "lucky" because none of my e-mails to that acquaintance of mine has ever marked as spam by his Boxbe. Hence, I have no idea how does it feel to accept "a special" notification like this :

Dayum...it indeed sucks :)). Stranger is dangerous, eh?

I personally think that using that kind of whatsoever e-mail organizer is counterproductive. The loss is even bigger than the earnings. We're not like a president of a country who receive thousands of threat e-mails each day, aren't we? C'mon. Imagine your adviser receive that kind of notification =p. 完蛋了.

Post-Power Syndrome

Squidoo mentioned that post-power syndrome is a psychiatric term for someone who lives in the shadow of the days past success (career, intelligence, or anything else), and could not accept the reality that exist today. Patients always want to express and show how great he/she was in the past.

I heard the post-power syndrome term since I was in SHS. Nevertheless, the term was getting accustomed to my ears started from my college days. Why? Because the syndrome arose in my big family during that time. Hence, my father talked about it quite often back then. As being stated on the quoted sentence, post-power syndrome affects people mentally. People being "trapped" in this syndrome tend to be bold/arrogant, pushy, demanding and always want to be respected by others. Hmmm..somehow, these characters are akin to the dictator, aren't they? Dreadful. 

Source : http://tinyurl.com/64uvqww

Post-power syndrome not only happens to the workers or officials, it also arises in the non-profit organizations. Honestly, someone ever said to me that I was "infected" with this syndrome back then in 2010. The "accusation" was obviously struck right into my brain. The problem was, at that time, I didn't know whether it was really it (*the syndrome) or else (*the necessity; no choice). The necessity or no choice here means, there was NO OTHER than me to be assigned. Lack of human resources can really become a nightmare to an organization, btw. After seeing it again and realized that the accusation was completely wrong, I really want to SMACK that guy right in his face. Dayuuuum =p. OK, back to the track. No matter what, the most important thing a person needs to deal with is A CONCESSION OF AN  ACCESSION. The new one will replace the old one. The old one needs to elatedly step down from his/her position to be replaced by the new one. It's a sunnatullah, a necessity.


Still, the hurdle always comes in a matter of trusting the new one to walk his/her own path. That's a challenge for the old one. The new line-up might encounter "act of adapting" issue. It's normal. Let he/she/them be. Just be patient watching he/she/them does/do that and that will do. Once in a while's advice is acceptable. But be careful not to get yourself "wet" again. Things work differently when after a plentiful amount of time, there is no progress or even worst, something goes wrong in the organization/company/department/else. At this moment, get ready to roll your sleeves up! *again, become the one who needs to roll her sleeves UP. bismillah...semoga bisa jadi amal ibadah saya*

Wicked Modus Operandi

Source : http://tinyurl.com/3pctyss

I recently realized that I have a specific modus operandi when I'm in allergic-and-hate mode with else. Virtually, if that specific person who becomes my source of annoyance happens to be my "friend" in YM, Skype or GTalk, I'll "kick" her/him out of it, -either by blocking or deleting. After a few days or weeks (or even months), if I succeeded to sort out my hatred to that specific person, I'll "invite" her/him again to my instant messenger services. If I failed to do so, or if that person gets on my nerves even more than before, I'll execute my next step, -unfriend/unfollow her/him from any social media like Facebook or Twitter. What if I met that person in person? I'll simply ignore her/him as if she/he's not exist in this world. Scary, huh?

How can I be that wicked? Why I couldn't just forgive and forget my hatred to else? I have my answer to that questions. I'm building my bastion to protect that person. Seriously, Bung? From what? From my fury-ugly verbal/non-verbal assaults. It's true that I can be very rude and barbaric to someone I don't like. Trust me. And guess what, I can do that without even saying a word. My gestures can boldly express my hatred. See? I'm VERY DANGEROUS at that moment. Hence, because I understand to the bones who I really am, I don't have any choice except being temporarily wicked to the person I have a problem with. The good news is, I'm getting good in dealing with this matter. It means that, the duration to "alienate" the specific person is getting shorter. Did you know that I ever estranged a person for 3 YEARS? Three consecutive YEARS. Even we were a classmates, who literally met everyday (*except on a holiday, for sure). Oh my...I was beyond BAD. But now, it's getting easier for me to sort my feelings out. Alhamdulillah. I'm still learning how to completely x-out this horrible thing of mine. I really want to be a person who can easily forgive someone, as simple as snapping my fingers. Nothing is impossible, isn't it?

Feces-Derived Meat Hoax

Started from this video :

Then it caused ruckus all over the virtual world. Well, thank God it happened to be a HOAX :

Honestly, when I read the news, I barely believe that it's true. Most of my arguments are similar with Victor's, especially the one which related to the Japanese hygiene manner. From the point of view of a Muslim, I completely disagree with the "idea" of the fake professor. How can someone invented a food out of A HUMAN EXCREMENT? Yuck, it's gross!

Sunblock Rules All!

I have a new hobby. Listening to KRPH, anytime...anywhere. Uhuyyy! Well done, Bung =p! Finally, my iPOD has a "noble" job aside from a mere music and video player. Errr, don't you want to ask which KRPH that I "adore" the most? The Tuesday one =p. Ha! There's nothing wrong to learn to be a good muslimah, isn't it? Xixixiyyy.

Source : http://tinyurl.com/3ebxc9d

On dunno-which-episode of Tuesday KRPH, I learnt about the basic daily care for muslimah. Wohooo...I found something extremely interesting on it. "The most critical point for muslimah's daily care is applying sunblock on the face", the speaker who happens to be a dermatologist said. HUH...REALLY? "It will protect your face from the black spots due to the exposure of the sun lights. You don't have to buy an expensive cosmetics like mosturizer, foundation, compact powder, or else. Just stick to the sunblock and that will do", the dermatologist added. GIGA-HUH? "Well, if you have a lot of money, you can buy any cosmetics you want. But, for the one who doesn't have enough money, just go for a sunblock. You can add a facial foam as a face cleaner. That's it", she explained. WHOAAAHHH...SUPERB! I love the simplicity idea on her explanations =p. Hahaha. I know that the dermatologist explanations were not based solely on simplicity. It just that I happen to love simple things when it comes to the make-up thingy. 

Btw, we also have to consider the sunblock's SPF (Sun Protection Factor) number. The bigger the number, the longer the protection is. The dermatologist reminded to clean up the sunblock after 4-5-hour use and reapply it if we still want to "expose ourself to the sun lights". If we don't do that, the comedogenic substances on the sunblock will trigger the comedo outburst. Hoooo^^. Nice informations. *dashing to RT-Mart to buy a sunblock =p*

The Quirky Musician

Last week was Dewi's birthday. It's kind of hard to understand why bizzare (*bizzare in my point of view has nothing to do with the unpleasant things) things keep happening during this annual "celebration" of hers. Well, I guess that's her luck =p.

After wrapped up our part-time job, Dewi, Wahid and me were agreed to celebrate Dewi's birthday with...eating 臭豆腐. Such a "modest" way to celebrate someone's birthday, wasn't it =p? We went to our favorite vendor and met this ojiichan named Mr. Yang. Ha! Our first impression of him was precisely right. He's a musician, - a violist, to be exact. During our conversation, I realized that my Chinese sucks, to be compared to Dewi's and Wahid's =)). I should be grateful that I can understand Yang Ojiichan's sayings because he could speak Japanese. Hahaha...thank God my Japanese hasn't completely vanished =p. In the end of the encounter, three of us were kind of contemplating Yang Ojiichan's advice. Hmmm...there's nothing to regret, either for extending study, bearing tons of amanah, missing a bunch of family events, or else. 對不對? #self-reflection#

 Dew, jangan mepet2 ya =))

Kinda Cool, Kinda Creepy

Facebook is now releasing its brand new feature, face recognition tech? It can track people's faces on the photos we've uploaded? It's failed to be fooled even with the cover ups? Bloody h**l. This is why I love Twitter way more than Facebook >,<"

Food Safety : Setting a New Standard

Source : http://www.usrecallnews.com/

E. coli outbreak in Germany? No..wait..in E.U.R.O.P.E? Yes, that's shocking news was all I heard earlier this week on the headlines. 1600 people across the European countries have been infected with a suspected new toxic strain of E. coli. And guess what, the "mastermind" behind the outbreak was playing around in the fresh produces such as tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuces. Whew, even consuming vegetables can be a very daunting experience now. Besides the E. coli outbreak, on almost the same time, some commercial beverages products in Taiwan have been confirmed tainted by a dangerous plasticizers, -six different chemicals including DEHP (*). Haiyyaa...什么可能？

It's only the beginning, though. For the second case, after being investigated, another electrifying news surfaced. "The government response also appears to have come too late for vendors at Shihlin Night Market, one of the Taipei’s biggest tourist attractions, who report that business has dropped off after some of the market’s drinks and shaved ice deserts tested positive for plasticizers". EeeEEEhh??? Shaved ice? 甘蔗汁? *Sigh. Even night market, the most iconic spot in Taiwan has been transformed into an intimidating place.

Source : http://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/2206

In my opinion, although the outbreak case's cause's source still blurry in the eyes of the scientists, something needs to be reviewed. The on farm's GAP and regulation of the supporting factors around the farm itself, play an important roles. For example, cleaning the raw produces before they go to market, using the properly processed organic fertilizers to the plants, workers' hygiene and isolating the animals/cattle (and its drops/manures) from the farm and irrigation water. As for the second case, it's simply related to the awareness of the manufacturer and food/beverages producers to use the safe ingredients in their products. Instead of using the cheap but dangerous substances like DEHP, they should consider the health of the consumers with choosing the not-so-cheap yet hearty ones like palm oil or citrus fruits' extracts. Simple matters which undoubtedly very difficult to be implemented in the society. [BP] 

Personal notes : Clouding agents are chemicals that usually use in juices or jams to increase the color density of products thus the products can look more appealing.  

Sacrifice

I'm the person who believe that in order to get something BIG, I need to sacrifice something. A simple analogue is in an adage "the world is the place to work your ass off and the afterlife is the place to have an eternal fun" (dunia adalah tempat bersusah-payah, manakala akhirat ialah tempat kesenangan abadi). How can we expect an awesome result without putting anything at stake? Besides, Allah loves the servant who gives the best merit (Allah mencintai hambaNya yang memberikan pahala terbaik). How can we give the best merit if we only lay back and relax, without showing an effort?  How can Allah evaluate our deeds if we never endure pain and hardship? #self-reflection#

Manner Matters

I might be the most complicated human being on earth in terms of manner-related matters. Consider it's true. Like, there are times I would describe myself as "straightforward" or "sharp-tongued". It does happen when what I called as "my Bornean's DNA", ruled. On the other hand, there are times when I would describe myself as "chary or shy" (*"sungkan" or "segan" in Indonesian), just like most Javanese acted. As well as there are times that I would simply portray myself as a "delicate" woman.

So, where will this entangled writing flow? Let's see. Hmmm, example will be easier to understand. So, for example, I need to talk to the older people about something. Then I would systematically switch on my "chary" + "very polite" way to address them. If I happened to talk to them, I would definitely started my sentence with "Ngapunten, Pak/Bu/Mbak/Mas, kula ajeng....". As for the close ones or the same age ones (even the younger ones), I also have my "standard greetings" which is basically the same as I previously mentioned. I know that else might found this kind of thing is UNNECESSARY. Just like when one of my friends who said that "Ah, itu kan ekspresi ke-feodal-anmu saja". Or, another friend who said "You're such a "traditional" girl". Well, it's up to them to say such things. 

Let me tell you, the greetings thingy is only the beginning. There are a lot of things I usually do, in the name of "manner". I don't need to mention it here. But, things I know for sure is that someone's behavior, attitude or manner are actually not related to one specific ethnic group. It is mostly related to someone's background. From what kind of family they being raised, what kind of environment they lived in, what kind of friends or community they have or joined. Well, such things. Does it related to one's character? Hmmm...probably.

It's getting tangled, isn't it :))? OK, let's wrap it up =p. In my opinion, there's no harm to be a well-mannered person. The ability of sensing things around is a most. Watching the gestures and feeling the response of others, sensing the atmosphere, well, these kind of things. The most important thing is, someone's manner is the reflection of someone's akhlaq. Don't you think so? Because I do think so.

Black Magic (-scratched) Sesame

To be honest, I didn't get along with this seeds quite often back in Indonesia. Why is that? Because it's hard to be found =p. Here? Sesame and its derivatives are everywhere. Inside of a bun, on the top of a bread, on the top of the noodles, mixed with matcha (and being sold at local St*rb*cks), mixed with oats (to drink as an instant cereals), in a form of an oil, in a form of a powder, in a form of a candy (*my favorite =p), etc. Among all forms of it, I'm really curious with the fourth one *drooling*. When will I get 買一送一 (mǎiyīsòngyī; buy one get one for free) St*rb*cks's coupon from 7-11 again? Just like the "old" times when me and Ella collected it. I still remember that time when we were sneaking out the campus and headed downtown just to get a sip of coffee from the biggest coffee chain, of course using that 7-11 coupon. Xixixi.

Hmmm....along with "Lady Tomato", I guess I'll also miss sesame after I come back. *munching black sesame-filled buns at the dawn*

Getting Around Taiwan, Literally

This is actually a pretty "stale" (read : basi) story, since it's been more than three weeks from its "happening phase". Started from 5th FORMMIT's Muktamar which happened to be conducted on April 9-10, 2011, I ended up traveling around Taiwan, -in a literal manner. Still don't get it? See this map :

Original map; source : http://www.orientaltravel.com/Taiwan_map.htm

Got on the train from Chiayi, spent a night at Zhongli, headed north and took u-turn route to Yilan, stayed over in Hualien for two nights, inquisitively attached to Nat'l Prehistoric Museum in Taitung (*but completely failed to find it after almost-three-hour walking) and went back to Chiayi again, all being done in four consecutive days. Honestly, this kind of "traveling-rally" was my first experience. Well, there's always the first time for everyone...in everything :D. _to be continued_

P.S : Rinc, thanks for being an-easy-to-deal-with companion during half of the route *wink.

never intended to be narcissistic at all

Why Holding Back?

*snatched bag/luggage scene*
BP : Eh, tapi, Pak... *melongo*
HN : Sudah, ga pa pa *smiling*
ZH : Jadi, Bunga mau ke mana? *mengalihkan pembicaraan :))*
------

I recalled it was almost two years ago's occurrence. Until now, I still feel the kindness of the aforementioned men. It's not like I never being well-treated by the men. But it is just that kind of "action" is rather rare, I guessed. The questions I've been wanting to ask is why don't most of the men do the same? Is it extremely difficult to give an extra hand to the women (*girls, to be exact)? Why do men tend to hold themselves back?

OK, let's say that most of the men (*my father and brother are definitely excluded), just want to stay "in their safe zone". Simply speaking, they don't want to get involved even deeper if later something happened after they help the women/girls. You know what I mean; women/girls. being helped. flattered. fell in l*v*. Gaaah..dramatic %$#@!. But, why would they (read : men) think about the future probability if the near one is ultra-close? Why don't just simply think "hey, I would get a lot of merit if I give her a hand". See? As plain as it is. If I were a man, I would definitely felt embarrassed when there's an occupied girl/woman passed by and I couldn't do anything about it. I even felt ashamed if the girl/woman is my acquaintance. Do you understand (*berkacak pinggang pada pria2 di mana pun mereka berada)? Don't hold back!