Today my class is having a blast for our homeroom teacher is having his birthday and we all celebrated it at school. We made him a huge greeting card and by huge, I mean it's sized as big as a wall magazine in average is. It consisted of collection of small greeting cards from each of us classmates. We made it a surprise. One of us called him to our class and then we yelled 'Happy Birthday' out loud as we offered him the gift and a chocolate cake we bought. I seriously don't think he would ever be amazed or anything because other classes had beaten us to give him surprise. I've heard twice of Happy Birthday song sang outside before us. Despite so, he still seemed to like the card we created and told us to eat the cake instead of him. After the not-so-great surprise party, he went home. We munched the chocolate treat afterward, then the kids started cream and glazing war, where everyone got to be touched by the chocolate whip cream and glazing of the cake. As the ridiculous stunt ended, I ran home. Well, not literally.... but that's when the story finished.
A thing or two from the event? I begin to think of what a forty-six year old man like him has in mind when it comes to his birthday... Is he happy to grow older? Has he achieved things he wanted throughout his life? If not, does he still have the spirit to chase his dreams? Or does he realize that there are things that prevent him on doing so?
Truth spoken, I don't even know. That's why I want to know. I, being a teenager, have a nature to act to my heart's content and sometimes, without even considering the compassion of elderly generation. Pattern of opinion between young and old are different. That's clearly obvious. Elderly might know some things better than the youngsters because they have been experiencing life longer than the young, but not anything. And what young generations know more than the elder is not much. In fact, young and elder should corroborate.
For example, if youngsters know how to use blogger, which is what elders can't do, the older generation knows how to fill the blog with more useful things.
Perhaps, in a teen's mind, breaking the law is not a big deal. It's even considered 'cool'. That's a shame, because the elders have made such system to prevent anything dangerous. I think the best solution might be discussing the 'law' or 'rules' between young and old generations. I believe both parties have reason for what they're doing.
Elder has more logical control, while the youngsters still need emotion management. It's what differs both the most. Stuffs young people learn at school may be forgotten by the elderly, but logic never escapes them. In return, the young can learn logic from elderly, but the elders, who might experience decreasing of memory, cannot learn how to memorize from young. Simply, that what makes elder a teacher of the young. And the experience as the best teacher, because old people also study from experience.
Okay, that was confusing. I'm just a teenager. Just as other typical types, I act as if I'm already mature, denying things I really am, doing rude things without considering compassion, and writing a blog I don't even want to read. Basically I seem like a hypocrite. Maybe I am, but I don't wanna be one.
The best thing about youngsters is that they have the true potential to change the world. I do believe in that.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
When Things Get Better and Much Worse
I walked through the newly-recognized school alley with one of my pals leading my steps, as I waved and greeted my best friends from middle high and continue strolling. She stopped in front of an unknown classroom with tag 'X-6' in front of it. I knew what it meant, but I had no idea what it would lead me to. She rushed into the room through an already opened old, broken wooden door cheerfully, looked already making friends on her past couple of months ago. She introduced me to a group of girls who had been chatting along near the large whiteboard. I didn't pay much attention to the society. I just watched my surroundings, observing by myself what possibly could make my day and what I should probably stay away from, just because. I wearily smiled and tried to get along with the situation, but I'm not the best of a social animal.
I felt nothing. I went into the room again, sat in a cornered wooden chair by myself to try to adapt myself with this. The dirty classroom was obviously not taken care of the ignorant kids who studied there daily. The atmosphere was insanely stuffy. Only two platform fans were helping to make some air to breathe, they weren't even half helpful. Two girls in front of me were teasing and kidding each other like sisters, and they reminded me of my primary school buddies. I noticed there was a kind of boundary between them that would make them belong in the same league or society group. My chairmate was someone I was certain not sharing the same hobby as I did, but she apparently liked Linkin Park. While the girl who first led me here had been sitting with someone I didn't acknowledge.
I walked into the room again. This time, I picked a seat on an end of the room, the closest row from the front door but the farthest from the teacher's view. Beside me sat a plain, young girl who left her hometown to study here. She was actually nice, but much of a simpleton and didn't intend to make another new friend. That was pity because if I want to have a best friend in the class, it would be her. She was friendly, humble, and not a jerk.
My backpack weighted lighter that day. I walked into the classroom, greeting a few friends I saw had been coming early as they usually did. I took a seat on the second row, second column to the door. Some months being here had changed my entire school life. This period was the moment I got to know the boys more. Thus, at this point I'm ready to state my observation of the class' solidarity.
---
In my senior year of middle high, my classmates knew and treated each other like siblings. There was never any dull moments. Though some girls grouped up into some particular people, as commonly differed as league or society group or stereotypes, we could actually get along with ANY of the classmates, and the boys never grouped.
Perhaps the habit of being together in a class makes me require every single one to be solid.
Now there are huge things to be fixed up before my current class become an ideal one, and I just freaking know it's gonna be hard. Just effing because.
First, the kids are perfectly grouped based on lifestyle and habits, which is, in my opinion, totally ridiculous. It's because their pattern of thinking is really subjective. There's this one group of girl who talk about boyfriends and girly stuffs. Cliche, I know, but I think this group would be all okay if they don't whine or mock people who aren't in their league every time. This impression brings every each of their own becoming some sort of stupid cornhead girls.
There's one group of girls who are religious. Nothing is wrong with them, except they just make other kids feel reluctant to interact with them because of their too-humble personality. The kids are apparently tolerate enough to avoid their bad habit affecting these almost-saint-like-girls. These girls also leave me impressions like they are always letting out a 'Don't disturb us with your troublesome manners!' aura, or to be short, their not-too-open behaviour gives me impression they're kinda... conceited. I know it's obviously wrong, but that's just the impression they put on me.
As for boys, they apparently grouped too. The difference is located in a dominant personality that lead the social group. Yes, lead. Unlike the girls', the boy groups have at least one dominant person who control the rest of the group members, Average Joes. Wow. The world really has been turned upside down.
Overall, the Average Joes are all the same, but the leader characters differ. There are Ambitious type, Jock type, Geek type, Gamer type, Nerd type, and... the names say. Though there is a few people who don't want to be in group, that includes myself, they're not as class-ruling as the ones in group are.
Last, but not least, I just wanna say: This sucks. I mean, we could at least break the barrier that differs us and parts us from each other. Where's the harm in that? I'm all concerned because some of the boys are attacking each other with provocative words, which I know they're not joking, and I thought boys have more logic than emotions working. I'm a newbie in the class, but don't think I can change how the wheel turns.
I felt nothing. I went into the room again, sat in a cornered wooden chair by myself to try to adapt myself with this. The dirty classroom was obviously not taken care of the ignorant kids who studied there daily. The atmosphere was insanely stuffy. Only two platform fans were helping to make some air to breathe, they weren't even half helpful. Two girls in front of me were teasing and kidding each other like sisters, and they reminded me of my primary school buddies. I noticed there was a kind of boundary between them that would make them belong in the same league or society group. My chairmate was someone I was certain not sharing the same hobby as I did, but she apparently liked Linkin Park. While the girl who first led me here had been sitting with someone I didn't acknowledge.
I walked into the room again. This time, I picked a seat on an end of the room, the closest row from the front door but the farthest from the teacher's view. Beside me sat a plain, young girl who left her hometown to study here. She was actually nice, but much of a simpleton and didn't intend to make another new friend. That was pity because if I want to have a best friend in the class, it would be her. She was friendly, humble, and not a jerk.
My backpack weighted lighter that day. I walked into the classroom, greeting a few friends I saw had been coming early as they usually did. I took a seat on the second row, second column to the door. Some months being here had changed my entire school life. This period was the moment I got to know the boys more. Thus, at this point I'm ready to state my observation of the class' solidarity.
---
In my senior year of middle high, my classmates knew and treated each other like siblings. There was never any dull moments. Though some girls grouped up into some particular people, as commonly differed as league or society group or stereotypes, we could actually get along with ANY of the classmates, and the boys never grouped.
Perhaps the habit of being together in a class makes me require every single one to be solid.
Now there are huge things to be fixed up before my current class become an ideal one, and I just freaking know it's gonna be hard. Just effing because.
First, the kids are perfectly grouped based on lifestyle and habits, which is, in my opinion, totally ridiculous. It's because their pattern of thinking is really subjective. There's this one group of girl who talk about boyfriends and girly stuffs. Cliche, I know, but I think this group would be all okay if they don't whine or mock people who aren't in their league every time. This impression brings every each of their own becoming some sort of stupid cornhead girls.
There's one group of girls who are religious. Nothing is wrong with them, except they just make other kids feel reluctant to interact with them because of their too-humble personality. The kids are apparently tolerate enough to avoid their bad habit affecting these almost-saint-like-girls. These girls also leave me impressions like they are always letting out a 'Don't disturb us with your troublesome manners!' aura, or to be short, their not-too-open behaviour gives me impression they're kinda... conceited. I know it's obviously wrong, but that's just the impression they put on me.
As for boys, they apparently grouped too. The difference is located in a dominant personality that lead the social group. Yes, lead. Unlike the girls', the boy groups have at least one dominant person who control the rest of the group members, Average Joes. Wow. The world really has been turned upside down.
Overall, the Average Joes are all the same, but the leader characters differ. There are Ambitious type, Jock type, Geek type, Gamer type, Nerd type, and... the names say. Though there is a few people who don't want to be in group, that includes myself, they're not as class-ruling as the ones in group are.
Last, but not least, I just wanna say: This sucks. I mean, we could at least break the barrier that differs us and parts us from each other. Where's the harm in that? I'm all concerned because some of the boys are attacking each other with provocative words, which I know they're not joking, and I thought boys have more logic than emotions working. I'm a newbie in the class, but don't think I can change how the wheel turns.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A Thousand Stories About A Thousand Suns
In case you're not a Linkin Park fan, and you haven't found out about their latest album A Thousand Suns, you seriously need to check it out. It hit stores on September 14th, a month ago, and its first single was 'The Catalyst', released at September 8th, peaked at many music charts for the last 30 days.
So why do I write this so late? I have one confession to write about A Thousand Suns: I just bought the album yesterday. I didn't really pre-order or anything. I haven't worked yet, so I thought it would be a burden to my parents since they don't really approve expenses through internet. I then think of buying the album via iTunes, because my mom has bought me some iPod apps and I thought she wouldn't mind... but another problem concerned. iTunes Music Store still hasn't available at my country. I tried to be patient until it hits the local music store, but I couldn't handle it. Three days after ATS' international release, I dared to download it for free on a certain site that I believe had been shutted down. I was frigging guilty, you know. I couldn't bear seeing my oversea LP friends keep posting and discussing about ATS, so my curiosity won. Even though I've got the song, I couldn't really get satisfied. I spent the next 7 days getting patient for the album to come out of the store, but then I got desperate. I didn't know an album can drive you crazy until I experienced it myself. I visit music stores twice every week, but they always said it hasn't arrived yet. The desperation is paid now!!! I've bought ATS and nobody could ever upset me for a long time of period!! HAHAHAHA!!
But I hope no friends of mine will get mad because I've been pretending to get the album and discussing that stuff with them as if I've bought it legally :\ I'm so SORRY, Linkin Park, for not being a real supporting fan :(
OK, enough babbling. I want to review A Thousand Suns my version, so I can figure out it's gonna be one hell of a crap, I've tried anyway:
A Thousand Suns is totally epic and genre-busting, and it drives me speechless when it comes to 'describing' or 'reviewing' this album. My first reaction to the single The Catalyst still remains the same: stunned. The difference is now that I can sing along with it without fainting first :P ... my brother too. He totally fell in love with that song as much as I do :)
I sometimes feel upset for ATS because it only has 9 full songs out of 15. I can't call the other 6 as a song. Some of them are quotations with BGM, though sound matching. My most favorite track is, believe me it's hard to pick, Wretches and Kings. I don't know why, though in that song Mike raps and Chester barely screams, it gives me lots of energy. It's like everyone in the band had significant role of playing music throughout the track, even when it's obviously highly scratched by THE Mr. Hahn. It also has Martin Luther King Jr. quote opening the song. Chester sings the teeth-gritting chorus, and it's epic. I've heard Wretches and Kings live and it sounded great!
My next favorite song is Waiting For The End. It's the second single of ATS, and its MV has came out. The video was terrific, completing the already-great song. Mike opens the song with rapping, and Chester sings the slow, deep toned chorus. The song kinda represents regret and a hope to move on your life to me. It doesn't sound like highly-reproduced through music technology. Sounds less 'mainstreams' to public than other tracks.
The 3rd track, Burning In The Skies, doesn't have Mike rapping. Mike sings the verses with some backings. Chester sings again the chorus, sounded rather slow and backed with Mike. Well what can I say, I love the combination :) this song has cheerful atmosphere, mixed with deep dark tones. Imagine how it sounds, or listen to it :P
'When They Come For Me', one track ahead from BITS, has an intro that seems like declaring a war to you, but it's not. The next thing appears after the intro is Mike's rap. Slightly curses, but as usual, nothing addressed to you. The chorus only sounds like 'aaahh' from 6 of the band. Chester sings the bridge, backed by Mike :)
After that is 'Robot Boy'. A slow tempo song starts with a solo piano by Mike, and 'ooooh' by the whole LP. The piano then continued throughout the song, with touch of violin. Chester sings the whole song backed by Mike again :) No certain chorus, but the bridge may be indicated (sorry heavy words) with Chester's background scream.
In the song 'Blackout', Chester RAPS and screams in the chorus himself. Isn't that epic? I'm amazed by how advanced he is in managing his breath :) There's keyboard sound and Joe's scratching sound can be easily heard in it and uniquely, Mike sings this song's bridge, and it reached the outro with a fading atmosphere.
'Iridescent' is rather sad. With the intro of solo piano and Mike singing in deep voice and low tone, it's followed by Chester's backed singing. Then the instruments got louder, accompanying the lonely-seemed piano's initial play, and Chester backs Mike's second bridge. After the sound of solo guitar, the whole band sings together. This is the part where I mostly weep :') The drum then starts playing, and Chester sings by himself with now loud instruments. The song's sound represent the situation of someone getting hope. It's first deep and lone, and then slowly getting loud and cheerful.
'The Messenger'... It only has guitar solo as instrument and Chester sings by himself. It's talking about loving and supporting someone. Slow tempo, lasts so fast. :| I'm sure I've heard that song before, or similar song, but what and where? :s
OK, that's it. I ain't reviewing The Catalyst because I'm totally stunned and speechless. The whole ATS itself could sound like ONE long song, because one track's outro is like the next song's intro. I couldn't stop listening to it since I first bought it. I'm so proud of Linkin Park!!! :DD Thanks for making a terrific project!
So why do I write this so late? I have one confession to write about A Thousand Suns: I just bought the album yesterday. I didn't really pre-order or anything. I haven't worked yet, so I thought it would be a burden to my parents since they don't really approve expenses through internet. I then think of buying the album via iTunes, because my mom has bought me some iPod apps and I thought she wouldn't mind... but another problem concerned. iTunes Music Store still hasn't available at my country. I tried to be patient until it hits the local music store, but I couldn't handle it. Three days after ATS' international release, I dared to download it for free on a certain site that I believe had been shutted down. I was frigging guilty, you know. I couldn't bear seeing my oversea LP friends keep posting and discussing about ATS, so my curiosity won. Even though I've got the song, I couldn't really get satisfied. I spent the next 7 days getting patient for the album to come out of the store, but then I got desperate. I didn't know an album can drive you crazy until I experienced it myself. I visit music stores twice every week, but they always said it hasn't arrived yet. The desperation is paid now!!! I've bought ATS and nobody could ever upset me for a long time of period!! HAHAHAHA!!
But I hope no friends of mine will get mad because I've been pretending to get the album and discussing that stuff with them as if I've bought it legally :\ I'm so SORRY, Linkin Park, for not being a real supporting fan :(
OK, enough babbling. I want to review A Thousand Suns my version, so I can figure out it's gonna be one hell of a crap, I've tried anyway:
A Thousand Suns is totally epic and genre-busting, and it drives me speechless when it comes to 'describing' or 'reviewing' this album. My first reaction to the single The Catalyst still remains the same: stunned. The difference is now that I can sing along with it without fainting first :P ... my brother too. He totally fell in love with that song as much as I do :)
I sometimes feel upset for ATS because it only has 9 full songs out of 15. I can't call the other 6 as a song. Some of them are quotations with BGM, though sound matching. My most favorite track is, believe me it's hard to pick, Wretches and Kings. I don't know why, though in that song Mike raps and Chester barely screams, it gives me lots of energy. It's like everyone in the band had significant role of playing music throughout the track, even when it's obviously highly scratched by THE Mr. Hahn. It also has Martin Luther King Jr. quote opening the song. Chester sings the teeth-gritting chorus, and it's epic. I've heard Wretches and Kings live and it sounded great!
My next favorite song is Waiting For The End. It's the second single of ATS, and its MV has came out. The video was terrific, completing the already-great song. Mike opens the song with rapping, and Chester sings the slow, deep toned chorus. The song kinda represents regret and a hope to move on your life to me. It doesn't sound like highly-reproduced through music technology. Sounds less 'mainstreams' to public than other tracks.
The 3rd track, Burning In The Skies, doesn't have Mike rapping. Mike sings the verses with some backings. Chester sings again the chorus, sounded rather slow and backed with Mike. Well what can I say, I love the combination :) this song has cheerful atmosphere, mixed with deep dark tones. Imagine how it sounds, or listen to it :P
'When They Come For Me', one track ahead from BITS, has an intro that seems like declaring a war to you, but it's not. The next thing appears after the intro is Mike's rap. Slightly curses, but as usual, nothing addressed to you. The chorus only sounds like 'aaahh' from 6 of the band. Chester sings the bridge, backed by Mike :)
After that is 'Robot Boy'. A slow tempo song starts with a solo piano by Mike, and 'ooooh' by the whole LP. The piano then continued throughout the song, with touch of violin. Chester sings the whole song backed by Mike again :) No certain chorus, but the bridge may be indicated (sorry heavy words) with Chester's background scream.
In the song 'Blackout', Chester RAPS and screams in the chorus himself. Isn't that epic? I'm amazed by how advanced he is in managing his breath :) There's keyboard sound and Joe's scratching sound can be easily heard in it and uniquely, Mike sings this song's bridge, and it reached the outro with a fading atmosphere.
'Iridescent' is rather sad. With the intro of solo piano and Mike singing in deep voice and low tone, it's followed by Chester's backed singing. Then the instruments got louder, accompanying the lonely-seemed piano's initial play, and Chester backs Mike's second bridge. After the sound of solo guitar, the whole band sings together. This is the part where I mostly weep :') The drum then starts playing, and Chester sings by himself with now loud instruments. The song's sound represent the situation of someone getting hope. It's first deep and lone, and then slowly getting loud and cheerful.
'The Messenger'... It only has guitar solo as instrument and Chester sings by himself. It's talking about loving and supporting someone. Slow tempo, lasts so fast. :| I'm sure I've heard that song before, or similar song, but what and where? :s
OK, that's it. I ain't reviewing The Catalyst because I'm totally stunned and speechless. The whole ATS itself could sound like ONE long song, because one track's outro is like the next song's intro. I couldn't stop listening to it since I first bought it. I'm so proud of Linkin Park!!! :DD Thanks for making a terrific project!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Class Echoes For You
Setelah selama kurang lebih sebulan menetap di kelas X-6 SMAN 1 Balikpapan, akhirnya aku kenal juga teman-teman sekelasku.
Mau kuceritain satu-satu? Nah. No way. Garis besarnya saja deh :)
Kelasku terdiri dari 36 murid, termasuk aku sendiri. Sewaktu pertama kali masuk, aku baru kenal Anggun dan Dhira, salah dua teman SMPku. Yang heboh ya Anggun ini. Dia mengenalkan aku ke teman-teman baruku, walau tidak digubris secara implisit -__- sabar ya gun. Kesan pertamaku terhadap kelas ini adalah... *jeng jeng jeng*
SO OLD-FASHIONED!!
Padahal sama-sama kelas RSBI. Bertolak belakang dengan kelas SMP-ku yang ber-AC, meja dan kursi desain IT, satu stopkontak untuk tiap meja, dan loker untuk tiap anak... kelasku yang baru ini meja dan bangkunya masih dari kayu yang aku berani bilang sudah sangat lama, melihat dari coretan-coretan tip-ex yang bervariasi... dan mejanya setiap hari terkena gempa *baca: goyang-goyang*. Bahkan teman sebangkuku menemukan buku tulis yang bertuliskan milik seorang anak kelas X-6... yang bukan angkatan kini. Ampun dah. Meja guru juga gak dibedain dengan meja murid: kayu, tidak bertaplak, dan tercoret dengan indahnya oleh siswa-siswa terdahulu.
Nah, boro-boro mau ada loker. Stopkontak saja hanya ada empat socket di muka kelas, sedangkan muridnya lebih banyak dibanding murid di kelas RSBI SMP-ku. AC? jangan tanya. AC-nya alami, bung! Hanya ada dua kipas angin tergantung di langit-langit. Yang mengindikasikan kelasnya RSBI cuma LCD Projector yang ada di tengah kelas, dan tugas yang seabrek yang perlu dikerjakan dengan komputer. Bwahhahaha. Tapi cukup mengeluhkan fasilitasnya. Sebab di SMP kami membayar, sementara sekarang digratiskan. Wajar dong.
So, move on to next topic.
Pelajarannya biasa saja. Konvensional. They explain, we listen. Ya gak gitu-gitu amat sih, tentu kami dapat kesempatan bertanya. Paling teknologikal ya kami ditugaskan membuat presentasi.. atau mendengarkan penjelasan presentasi guru. Malah sekarang dicetuskan ulangan online dengan ID resmi yang disahkan administrasi sekolah *ciee*. Tapi pengurusan ID-nya bikin ribet. Bener deh. Dengan anak-anak cowoknya yang barbar waktu mengerubungi pengurus ID, aku belum dapat kesempatan ngecek ID-ku. WTF is wrong with those guys? -__- give me a chance, morons! Selebihnya? sok IT haha. Gosip dari anak-anak kelas lain menyatakan bahwa hasil ulangan PKn mereka jelek-jelek dan untuk mendapat kesempatan perbaikan nilai, gurunya menyuruh mereka mengirim permintaan lewat e-mail. apa-apa lewat e-mail. WTF lagi? ingin rasanya aku katakan pada sang guru PKn yang kebetulan wali kelasku bahwa IT diciptakan untuk membantu kerjaan sehari-hari kita. Bukan tiap ada apa-apa pakai e-mail. Terlalu bergantung pada teknologi akan menjadi bumerang, tokh?
Dan guru PKn ini nyentrik. He doesn't talk about laws or civic. He comments laws on his heart's content. Bahkan beliau pernah bertanya siapa di antara kami yang mengendarai motor ke sekolah, untuk meminta tolong membelikan bebatuan kolam (i know it's weird -_-') tanpa memberi kesan hendak 'menjebak' murid-muridnya yang belum cukup umur mengaku mengemudikan kendaraan bermotor.. dan melawan hukum secara tidak langsung.
Untuk apa bebatuan kolam itu? Saudara-saudara, ternyata wali kelas original ini hendak menciptakan TAMAN di dalam kelas!!! *jeng jeng jeng* dengan tanaman pot dan AIR MANCUR! Yes, you've heard me!! Kayaknya ide ini tercetuskan di kepala sang wali kelas setelah mengetahui uang kas kelas kami ternyata BANYAK. duh.. pak, kalau lain kali punya ide 'brilian' lagi tolonglah beritahu dulu yang menumpuk uang kas ini!! walau kami setuju karena 'keren' dan orisinil, tapi kan dongkol juga kalau kita gak tahu untuk apa uang kita. pertama bebatuan itu, lalu air mancurnya. ntar lama-lama bikin kolam renang gak ngasih tahu -___-'
Udah, cukup menghinanya. Sekarang ke topik: THUH CLASSMATES! Yee-aw!
Teman-temanku baik semua, kok. Walau aku gak (hopefully belum) punya sahabat di sini :( tapi Insyaallah mereka dapat menerimaku dengan baik :)
Ternyata eh ternyata, teman-teman sekelasku banyak juga yang LINKIN PARK FANS! DUDE! IS THIS A DREAM? Memang mereka jarang discuss tentang LP bareng-bareng, tapi toh suatu kemajuan ketemu senasib seperjuangan hehe. Iya, dong... Coba tengok kelas X-4. Nyetelnya 'Keong Racun' bwahahah. Kami doong... "What I've Done"!!!
Selain yang LPfans juga baik kok. Boys-nya tetap pada usil dan bikin ngakak-ngikik, walaupun kadang practical joke-nya agak brutal. Seperti kebanyakan, pada hobi bermain Counter Strike gak kenal waktu. Sementara cewek-ceweknya terbagi-bagi ke dalam semacam 'geng' begitu. Walau tidak officially grouping, one hangs with particular girls, and another with the others. A shame. Ngerti? Aku juga gak :P
Aku sendiri gak ada geng di kelas, tetapi tiap ada istirahat atau lagi gak belajar, aku bakal hang out dengan teman-teman SMP-ku yang ada di kelas-kelas lain. Mereka juga sering ngumpul bareng. Dan ternyata pisah kelas dengan buddy itu seru juga! Kami punya lebih banyak hal untuk dibicarakan! Kemarin saja kami mengadakan kunjungan kejutan ke sobat yang ulang tahun sambil membawa blackforest dan kado! What a surprise! :)
Inti: even if it's not the best, high school is fun!
Mau kuceritain satu-satu? Nah. No way. Garis besarnya saja deh :)
Kelasku terdiri dari 36 murid, termasuk aku sendiri. Sewaktu pertama kali masuk, aku baru kenal Anggun dan Dhira, salah dua teman SMPku. Yang heboh ya Anggun ini. Dia mengenalkan aku ke teman-teman baruku, walau tidak digubris secara implisit -__- sabar ya gun. Kesan pertamaku terhadap kelas ini adalah... *jeng jeng jeng*
SO OLD-FASHIONED!!
Padahal sama-sama kelas RSBI. Bertolak belakang dengan kelas SMP-ku yang ber-AC, meja dan kursi desain IT, satu stopkontak untuk tiap meja, dan loker untuk tiap anak... kelasku yang baru ini meja dan bangkunya masih dari kayu yang aku berani bilang sudah sangat lama, melihat dari coretan-coretan tip-ex yang bervariasi... dan mejanya setiap hari terkena gempa *baca: goyang-goyang*. Bahkan teman sebangkuku menemukan buku tulis yang bertuliskan milik seorang anak kelas X-6... yang bukan angkatan kini. Ampun dah. Meja guru juga gak dibedain dengan meja murid: kayu, tidak bertaplak, dan tercoret dengan indahnya oleh siswa-siswa terdahulu.
Nah, boro-boro mau ada loker. Stopkontak saja hanya ada empat socket di muka kelas, sedangkan muridnya lebih banyak dibanding murid di kelas RSBI SMP-ku. AC? jangan tanya. AC-nya alami, bung! Hanya ada dua kipas angin tergantung di langit-langit. Yang mengindikasikan kelasnya RSBI cuma LCD Projector yang ada di tengah kelas, dan tugas yang seabrek yang perlu dikerjakan dengan komputer. Bwahhahaha. Tapi cukup mengeluhkan fasilitasnya. Sebab di SMP kami membayar, sementara sekarang digratiskan. Wajar dong.
So, move on to next topic.
Pelajarannya biasa saja. Konvensional. They explain, we listen. Ya gak gitu-gitu amat sih, tentu kami dapat kesempatan bertanya. Paling teknologikal ya kami ditugaskan membuat presentasi.. atau mendengarkan penjelasan presentasi guru. Malah sekarang dicetuskan ulangan online dengan ID resmi yang disahkan administrasi sekolah *ciee*. Tapi pengurusan ID-nya bikin ribet. Bener deh. Dengan anak-anak cowoknya yang barbar waktu mengerubungi pengurus ID, aku belum dapat kesempatan ngecek ID-ku. WTF is wrong with those guys? -__- give me a chance, morons! Selebihnya? sok IT haha. Gosip dari anak-anak kelas lain menyatakan bahwa hasil ulangan PKn mereka jelek-jelek dan untuk mendapat kesempatan perbaikan nilai, gurunya menyuruh mereka mengirim permintaan lewat e-mail. apa-apa lewat e-mail. WTF lagi? ingin rasanya aku katakan pada sang guru PKn yang kebetulan wali kelasku bahwa IT diciptakan untuk membantu kerjaan sehari-hari kita. Bukan tiap ada apa-apa pakai e-mail. Terlalu bergantung pada teknologi akan menjadi bumerang, tokh?
Dan guru PKn ini nyentrik. He doesn't talk about laws or civic. He comments laws on his heart's content. Bahkan beliau pernah bertanya siapa di antara kami yang mengendarai motor ke sekolah, untuk meminta tolong membelikan bebatuan kolam (i know it's weird -_-') tanpa memberi kesan hendak 'menjebak' murid-muridnya yang belum cukup umur mengaku mengemudikan kendaraan bermotor.. dan melawan hukum secara tidak langsung.
Untuk apa bebatuan kolam itu? Saudara-saudara, ternyata wali kelas original ini hendak menciptakan TAMAN di dalam kelas!!! *jeng jeng jeng* dengan tanaman pot dan AIR MANCUR! Yes, you've heard me!! Kayaknya ide ini tercetuskan di kepala sang wali kelas setelah mengetahui uang kas kelas kami ternyata BANYAK. duh.. pak, kalau lain kali punya ide 'brilian' lagi tolonglah beritahu dulu yang menumpuk uang kas ini!! walau kami setuju karena 'keren' dan orisinil, tapi kan dongkol juga kalau kita gak tahu untuk apa uang kita. pertama bebatuan itu, lalu air mancurnya. ntar lama-lama bikin kolam renang gak ngasih tahu -___-'
Udah, cukup menghinanya. Sekarang ke topik: THUH CLASSMATES! Yee-aw!
Teman-temanku baik semua, kok. Walau aku gak (hopefully belum) punya sahabat di sini :( tapi Insyaallah mereka dapat menerimaku dengan baik :)
Ternyata eh ternyata, teman-teman sekelasku banyak juga yang LINKIN PARK FANS! DUDE! IS THIS A DREAM? Memang mereka jarang discuss tentang LP bareng-bareng, tapi toh suatu kemajuan ketemu senasib seperjuangan hehe. Iya, dong... Coba tengok kelas X-4. Nyetelnya 'Keong Racun' bwahahah. Kami doong... "What I've Done"!!!
Selain yang LPfans juga baik kok. Boys-nya tetap pada usil dan bikin ngakak-ngikik, walaupun kadang practical joke-nya agak brutal. Seperti kebanyakan, pada hobi bermain Counter Strike gak kenal waktu. Sementara cewek-ceweknya terbagi-bagi ke dalam semacam 'geng' begitu. Walau tidak officially grouping, one hangs with particular girls, and another with the others. A shame. Ngerti? Aku juga gak :P
Aku sendiri gak ada geng di kelas, tetapi tiap ada istirahat atau lagi gak belajar, aku bakal hang out dengan teman-teman SMP-ku yang ada di kelas-kelas lain. Mereka juga sering ngumpul bareng. Dan ternyata pisah kelas dengan buddy itu seru juga! Kami punya lebih banyak hal untuk dibicarakan! Kemarin saja kami mengadakan kunjungan kejutan ke sobat yang ulang tahun sambil membawa blackforest dan kado! What a surprise! :)
Inti: even if it's not the best, high school is fun!
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Story Between Me and Linkin Park
This is not a fanfic, just a true sharing about a Linkin Park fan, me.
Ever discovered a plan to make Linkin Park dominating the world and did not agree about that? Find out why LP fans are so stubborn.
- Early Linkin Park Recognition
I've became an LP fan since I was a middle 7th grader. It was 3 years ago, pretty new huh? The only reason I acknowledged Linkin Park so late is because I was a TOTAL nerd. Before I hit the age to go to junior high, I didn't give a damn to anything other than school things. I never hung out with friends, browsed internet, listened to any kinds of music, you name it. The most exciting daily thing I ever did was reading. When I was a 6th grader, my reading hobby led me to the obsession of an anime (Japanese Cartoon-thing) named One Piece. After I graduated and began to recognize the internet, the obsession became an addiction... and I finally was introduced to music. Yay. Ok, so I searched things related to One Piece night and days, then I found something called AMV (Anime Music Video). Some sort of music video, where we pick up scenes that match the entire music's mood. A certain AMV caught my attention. The graphic was excellent, the scenes just matched the music mood, the effects was a professional work, but the best thing I liked about it was the music: Lying From You. Linkin Park. All thanks to junizorofan at YouTube. Technically, it was not the first LP song I ever heard. My parents bought me a compilation with Numb as one of the songs in it, and that was the first I recognized.
- Internet Influence
I watched the AMV over and over again. The two main characters in the AMV were coincidentally my very favorite ones, and their scenes were packed well. They totally described the angsty atmosphere of the song. After I got attracted to the song, I tried to watch the similar AMVs. I also found some bands I liked by using the anime obsession such as Rise Against and Three Days Grace. I didn't remember correctly how, but I ended up downloading EVERY songs on Linkin Park's studio albums from Hybrid Theory to Minutes To Midnight for free through some sites. I guess it took about 3 days to do so because I also downloaded some other band's songs - though not as much as LP's. At the same time, I planned to make an AMV but I kinda failed. With A Place For My Head song in the video maker and edited scenes that didn't even fill quarter part of the song, I came up with nothing. Feeling bored, I browsed things about LP without any serious purpose. I thought I could get some inspiration. I was wrong. I eventually abandoned the AMV project and searched more things about Linkin Park. Apparently LP was nothing but awesomeness. I first visited LPN and LPU, and then fansites like LPA, LPT and LPL, and social networkings. Now, I'm in touch with more LP fans on social networks than the sites that are purposely dedicated to them, because I browse on mobile more than laptop. And my internet connection is just a sucker for those sites. It loads extremely slowly and pisses me off. But enough with that. So my obsession to the anime slowly decreased, and I began my journey to become an absolute hardcore LP fan! I finally dedicated my soul to LP after I hit the 8th grade. I kept up with latest stuffs about them, and really hoped Linkin Park would come to my country again. Because I freaking missed their performance (my lifetime regret). My mp3 player that used to be full with anime soundtracks was turned into a special LinkinPlayer. Simply filled with LP songs... er, and Three Days Grace, Sum41, and Rise Against's.
- Influence to Family & Friends
My family is the one who found out my LP obsession first. My little brother did watch the AMV, too, and I could tell he was kind of fall for it. We basically liked for lots of similar things, though he often denied it. I could watch One Piece all day long and he would stay with me to comment that the show is awful, but at night he'd by any way read the manga (Japanese comic) without me knowing it. So when I started to put up LP tunes in my house TONS of times, he wondered why. I wouldn't answer, because I knew he'd figure it out himself that I already got myself a new obsession! My parents did guess right, too. They bought me a Linkin Park t-shirt for my birthday! Wee! Not thinking twice, I wore the shirt to school and shocked all my pals. At that day, I was supposed to perform a drama with my group and I remember that I used 'Chester' for my role's name, since I wrote the script! From that second, they asked about that and I was notable for being the school's biggest Linkin Park fan. Another story. On a past certain holiday, when I was travelling over southern Java Island with my family, we visited lots of places and we once arrived in an old music shop. Guess what, I did find all the studio albums! I begged my parents to let me buy Hybrid Theory, Meteora, Minutes To Midnight and The Rising Tied all in that moment! I could not miss the chance. The albums were already hard to find, my parents understood and gave me the permission!!! Yay!
- Catching Up With Communities
I signed up for LPN as the first attempt to become their hardcore fan. I felt like I didn't belong to the community and I only visit the site to catch up the latest info. I hadn't signed into the LPU because I wouldn't force my mom to pay the membership. Afterwards, I registered on fanbase websites like LPA, LPL and LPT. Being influenced by public, I made social networks account on FB and Twitter. I was inactive to those communities since two months after I passed to 9th grade. I had an 8-months training, but that was another story. For now, twitter has given me the best LinkinSources. I found out about MikeShinodaClan, Phoenix-Farrell, ChesterBNetworks, and other fansites. I also follow some informative accounts for latest LP news such as KROQ, MTV, and owners of fanbases. I became friends with fellow LP lovers and my already-known classmates!
- Be Objective
First times I became fan of LP, I felt an excessive confidence in my mind to force everyone to be LP hardcore fans. I became sensitive with anything and everything about Linkin Park. If LP shows up on TV, I will scream like a desperate fangirl. If some kids talk about music, I will barge in and babble about Linkin Park. Those happened until I went 9th grade. Before the maturity got over me, I would just answer "the best band in the world!!" when somebody asked my reason to be so obsessive. Nothing satisfying, though. My mature atttude started since I listened to some other bands that I felt like: Rise Against, The Corrs, Three Days Grace, Sum 41, Deftones, Shinedown, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance, 30 Seconds To Mars, and anything similar to them. I realized that everyone got different tastes of music, and although LP is the best band in the world for me, I'd like to be objective and try something new. I don't need to be hysterical or cursing whenever I find out some guy speaks bad things about LP. I'll tell that person my opinion and ask about theirs. The easiest examples are found lately: some Linkin Park 'so-called fans' just complained about their new album A Thousand Suns and wanted them to go back to 'nu-metal' genre. The people says ATS was a crap, or a too-experimental project. On the other side, lots of LP fans still stick with the band and said they love the stuffs, the tracks were awesome, and other complimenting points. When I listened to ATS, I could feel why some people felt disappointed and why the rest got satisfied with it at the same time. A Thousand Suns review coming up on next post.
- Why I Like Linkin Park
My first amazed impression was the scratches and sound effects on the music. They got their own DJ. Reanimation album, contains the remixes of previous album tracks, it was dope. Joe Hahn, other than turntabling, also directed LP's video clips. Makes the whole members have equal portion of tasks to do. The next thing was the rap. Mike Shinoda, being a keyboardist and a rhythm guitarist, also raps along with Chester's voice and screams. Creating an insanely new innovation in rock music world. There are too many good things to say about Linkin Park. Their music evolves, where on each steps always bring brand new atmospheres, and the changes are going great. Linkin Park knows how to create and play music that will shake people's moods and make them addicted to it. The instruments seem to be basic, but to know this you gotta take a closer look. The teamwork. Lots of members on a group often causes internal conflicts, but this thing never bothers them. In my thoughts: Mike may not be the best rapper or keyboarder ever, Chester may not be the best vocalist in the world, Brad may not be playing crazy guitar techniques to top himself on greatest guitarists rank, and so on, but the modesty is what makes the teamwork go well. There are no expert guitar techniques, or some advanced drumming, or crazily-fast keyboard playing, or else, but they know how to turn some kind of basic music into perfect describing of life and emotion reliever. Linkin Park has all the tracks you need for all your moods. Other than musical stuffs they create, Linkin Park is not a bad band, either. They are modest. I mean, they are all talented on loads of things, and even after getting popular, they had never acted weird or doing things that are intended to gain public attention. They live their life like us, but keep giving their fans the attention they need. One more thing: they're not selling out. Artists can do anything with their creation.
Ever discovered a plan to make Linkin Park dominating the world and did not agree about that? Find out why LP fans are so stubborn.
- Early Linkin Park Recognition
I've became an LP fan since I was a middle 7th grader. It was 3 years ago, pretty new huh? The only reason I acknowledged Linkin Park so late is because I was a TOTAL nerd. Before I hit the age to go to junior high, I didn't give a damn to anything other than school things. I never hung out with friends, browsed internet, listened to any kinds of music, you name it. The most exciting daily thing I ever did was reading. When I was a 6th grader, my reading hobby led me to the obsession of an anime (Japanese Cartoon-thing) named One Piece. After I graduated and began to recognize the internet, the obsession became an addiction... and I finally was introduced to music. Yay. Ok, so I searched things related to One Piece night and days, then I found something called AMV (Anime Music Video). Some sort of music video, where we pick up scenes that match the entire music's mood. A certain AMV caught my attention. The graphic was excellent, the scenes just matched the music mood, the effects was a professional work, but the best thing I liked about it was the music: Lying From You. Linkin Park. All thanks to junizorofan at YouTube. Technically, it was not the first LP song I ever heard. My parents bought me a compilation with Numb as one of the songs in it, and that was the first I recognized.
- Internet Influence
I watched the AMV over and over again. The two main characters in the AMV were coincidentally my very favorite ones, and their scenes were packed well. They totally described the angsty atmosphere of the song. After I got attracted to the song, I tried to watch the similar AMVs. I also found some bands I liked by using the anime obsession such as Rise Against and Three Days Grace. I didn't remember correctly how, but I ended up downloading EVERY songs on Linkin Park's studio albums from Hybrid Theory to Minutes To Midnight for free through some sites. I guess it took about 3 days to do so because I also downloaded some other band's songs - though not as much as LP's. At the same time, I planned to make an AMV but I kinda failed. With A Place For My Head song in the video maker and edited scenes that didn't even fill quarter part of the song, I came up with nothing. Feeling bored, I browsed things about LP without any serious purpose. I thought I could get some inspiration. I was wrong. I eventually abandoned the AMV project and searched more things about Linkin Park. Apparently LP was nothing but awesomeness. I first visited LPN and LPU, and then fansites like LPA, LPT and LPL, and social networkings. Now, I'm in touch with more LP fans on social networks than the sites that are purposely dedicated to them, because I browse on mobile more than laptop. And my internet connection is just a sucker for those sites. It loads extremely slowly and pisses me off. But enough with that. So my obsession to the anime slowly decreased, and I began my journey to become an absolute hardcore LP fan! I finally dedicated my soul to LP after I hit the 8th grade. I kept up with latest stuffs about them, and really hoped Linkin Park would come to my country again. Because I freaking missed their performance (my lifetime regret). My mp3 player that used to be full with anime soundtracks was turned into a special LinkinPlayer. Simply filled with LP songs... er, and Three Days Grace, Sum41, and Rise Against's.
- Influence to Family & Friends
My family is the one who found out my LP obsession first. My little brother did watch the AMV, too, and I could tell he was kind of fall for it. We basically liked for lots of similar things, though he often denied it. I could watch One Piece all day long and he would stay with me to comment that the show is awful, but at night he'd by any way read the manga (Japanese comic) without me knowing it. So when I started to put up LP tunes in my house TONS of times, he wondered why. I wouldn't answer, because I knew he'd figure it out himself that I already got myself a new obsession! My parents did guess right, too. They bought me a Linkin Park t-shirt for my birthday! Wee! Not thinking twice, I wore the shirt to school and shocked all my pals. At that day, I was supposed to perform a drama with my group and I remember that I used 'Chester' for my role's name, since I wrote the script! From that second, they asked about that and I was notable for being the school's biggest Linkin Park fan. Another story. On a past certain holiday, when I was travelling over southern Java Island with my family, we visited lots of places and we once arrived in an old music shop. Guess what, I did find all the studio albums! I begged my parents to let me buy Hybrid Theory, Meteora, Minutes To Midnight and The Rising Tied all in that moment! I could not miss the chance. The albums were already hard to find, my parents understood and gave me the permission!!! Yay!
- Catching Up With Communities
I signed up for LPN as the first attempt to become their hardcore fan. I felt like I didn't belong to the community and I only visit the site to catch up the latest info. I hadn't signed into the LPU because I wouldn't force my mom to pay the membership. Afterwards, I registered on fanbase websites like LPA, LPL and LPT. Being influenced by public, I made social networks account on FB and Twitter. I was inactive to those communities since two months after I passed to 9th grade. I had an 8-months training, but that was another story. For now, twitter has given me the best LinkinSources. I found out about MikeShinodaClan, Phoenix-Farrell, ChesterBNetworks, and other fansites. I also follow some informative accounts for latest LP news such as KROQ, MTV, and owners of fanbases. I became friends with fellow LP lovers and my already-known classmates!
- Be Objective
First times I became fan of LP, I felt an excessive confidence in my mind to force everyone to be LP hardcore fans. I became sensitive with anything and everything about Linkin Park. If LP shows up on TV, I will scream like a desperate fangirl. If some kids talk about music, I will barge in and babble about Linkin Park. Those happened until I went 9th grade. Before the maturity got over me, I would just answer "the best band in the world!!" when somebody asked my reason to be so obsessive. Nothing satisfying, though. My mature atttude started since I listened to some other bands that I felt like: Rise Against, The Corrs, Three Days Grace, Sum 41, Deftones, Shinedown, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance, 30 Seconds To Mars, and anything similar to them. I realized that everyone got different tastes of music, and although LP is the best band in the world for me, I'd like to be objective and try something new. I don't need to be hysterical or cursing whenever I find out some guy speaks bad things about LP. I'll tell that person my opinion and ask about theirs. The easiest examples are found lately: some Linkin Park 'so-called fans' just complained about their new album A Thousand Suns and wanted them to go back to 'nu-metal' genre. The people says ATS was a crap, or a too-experimental project. On the other side, lots of LP fans still stick with the band and said they love the stuffs, the tracks were awesome, and other complimenting points. When I listened to ATS, I could feel why some people felt disappointed and why the rest got satisfied with it at the same time. A Thousand Suns review coming up on next post.
- Why I Like Linkin Park
My first amazed impression was the scratches and sound effects on the music. They got their own DJ. Reanimation album, contains the remixes of previous album tracks, it was dope. Joe Hahn, other than turntabling, also directed LP's video clips. Makes the whole members have equal portion of tasks to do. The next thing was the rap. Mike Shinoda, being a keyboardist and a rhythm guitarist, also raps along with Chester's voice and screams. Creating an insanely new innovation in rock music world. There are too many good things to say about Linkin Park. Their music evolves, where on each steps always bring brand new atmospheres, and the changes are going great. Linkin Park knows how to create and play music that will shake people's moods and make them addicted to it. The instruments seem to be basic, but to know this you gotta take a closer look. The teamwork. Lots of members on a group often causes internal conflicts, but this thing never bothers them. In my thoughts: Mike may not be the best rapper or keyboarder ever, Chester may not be the best vocalist in the world, Brad may not be playing crazy guitar techniques to top himself on greatest guitarists rank, and so on, but the modesty is what makes the teamwork go well. There are no expert guitar techniques, or some advanced drumming, or crazily-fast keyboard playing, or else, but they know how to turn some kind of basic music into perfect describing of life and emotion reliever. Linkin Park has all the tracks you need for all your moods. Other than musical stuffs they create, Linkin Park is not a bad band, either. They are modest. I mean, they are all talented on loads of things, and even after getting popular, they had never acted weird or doing things that are intended to gain public attention. They live their life like us, but keep giving their fans the attention they need. One more thing: they're not selling out. Artists can do anything with their creation.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Sober Head
It's the journey, not the destination-
What? Kalimat seperti itu tampaknya sudah terkenal bukan? "Yang terpenting adalah proses, bukan hasil." kira-kira begitulah terjemahan bebas petikan di atas. Memang sesat, tetapi konsepnya sama:
Persiapan ---> Perjalanan ---> Destinasi. Perjalanan lebih diutamakan dibanding destinasi, karena lebih banyak yang bisa diambil pelajaran dalam perjalanannya. Dan itulah hidup. Bila anda mementingkan destinasi dibandingkan perjalanan, untuk apa anda hidup? Toh bakal mati juga. *provokasi, mohon maaf bila tersinggung*
Dalam praktek kehidupan sehari-hari, tentu ada saja yang kita petik hikmahnya secara sadar maupun tidak. Contoh ekstrim adalah misalnya kita tidur seharian pada suatu hari libur. Apa pelajaran yang bisa diambil? Bahwa tidur seharian itu membosankan -___-' *pengalaman pribadi* dan kita melewatkan satu hari yang cerah yang bisa kita gunakan secara produktif *bukan berarti bekerja*. Saya pribadi di hari libur memang tidak melakukan apa pun yang biasa saya lakukan di hari biasa seperti buat PR ataupun belajar *bo~ring*. Waktu libur bisa kita manfaatkan untuk menambah life skill atau keterampilan non-akademik, misalnya memasak/membuat kue, berlatih bermusik, berolahraga, membuat novel/komik, dan sebagainya. Lebih bagus lagi bila ada yang bisa diajak bekerja sama!
Kok jadi ngelantur..
Bagaimana tentang kutipan "Yang terpenting adalah proses, bukan hasil."?
Yup. Untuk mendapatkan hasil yang bagus, diperlukan juga proses yang memadai. Di akhir bulan Ramadhan yang suci ini, selain telah meningkatkan ibadah anda, apa pelajaran yang anda bisa dapatkan? Apa pengalaman anda selama sebulan yang penuh berkah ini?
What? Kalimat seperti itu tampaknya sudah terkenal bukan? "Yang terpenting adalah proses, bukan hasil." kira-kira begitulah terjemahan bebas petikan di atas. Memang sesat, tetapi konsepnya sama:
Persiapan ---> Perjalanan ---> Destinasi. Perjalanan lebih diutamakan dibanding destinasi, karena lebih banyak yang bisa diambil pelajaran dalam perjalanannya. Dan itulah hidup. Bila anda mementingkan destinasi dibandingkan perjalanan, untuk apa anda hidup? Toh bakal mati juga. *provokasi, mohon maaf bila tersinggung*
Dalam praktek kehidupan sehari-hari, tentu ada saja yang kita petik hikmahnya secara sadar maupun tidak. Contoh ekstrim adalah misalnya kita tidur seharian pada suatu hari libur. Apa pelajaran yang bisa diambil? Bahwa tidur seharian itu membosankan -___-' *pengalaman pribadi* dan kita melewatkan satu hari yang cerah yang bisa kita gunakan secara produktif *bukan berarti bekerja*. Saya pribadi di hari libur memang tidak melakukan apa pun yang biasa saya lakukan di hari biasa seperti buat PR ataupun belajar *bo~ring*. Waktu libur bisa kita manfaatkan untuk menambah life skill atau keterampilan non-akademik, misalnya memasak/membuat kue, berlatih bermusik, berolahraga, membuat novel/komik, dan sebagainya. Lebih bagus lagi bila ada yang bisa diajak bekerja sama!
Kok jadi ngelantur..
Bagaimana tentang kutipan "Yang terpenting adalah proses, bukan hasil."?
Yup. Untuk mendapatkan hasil yang bagus, diperlukan juga proses yang memadai. Di akhir bulan Ramadhan yang suci ini, selain telah meningkatkan ibadah anda, apa pelajaran yang anda bisa dapatkan? Apa pengalaman anda selama sebulan yang penuh berkah ini?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Medaniterrania
Medan oh medan...
Setelah 8 bulan pelatihan, akhirnya tiba juga saatnya bagi saya untuk pulang ke rumah tercinta. :) Namun, sebagai syarat akhir tiket pulang, saya harus mengikuti Olimpiade Sains Nasional IX di Medan dengan kontingen daerah Kalimantan Timur mulai tanggal 1-7 Agustus 2010. Bagian ini memang paling bikin malas --'' terutama karena saya super duper pesimis. Apalagi prosedur administrasi dan formalitasnya seperti upacara pembukaan dan penutupannya. Kenapa nggak menganut motto Julius Caesar yang Veni, Vidi, Vici [terjemahan bebas: Datang, Kerjakan, Pulang] itu sih? Anyway, selama hampir seminggu menginap di ibukota Sumatera Utara itu, saya mendapatkan pengalaman dan hal-hal yang sangat menarik di sana.
Let me show you some things about Medan:
Setelah 8 bulan pelatihan, akhirnya tiba juga saatnya bagi saya untuk pulang ke rumah tercinta. :) Namun, sebagai syarat akhir tiket pulang, saya harus mengikuti Olimpiade Sains Nasional IX di Medan dengan kontingen daerah Kalimantan Timur mulai tanggal 1-7 Agustus 2010. Bagian ini memang paling bikin malas --'' terutama karena saya super duper pesimis. Apalagi prosedur administrasi dan formalitasnya seperti upacara pembukaan dan penutupannya. Kenapa nggak menganut motto Julius Caesar yang Veni, Vidi, Vici [terjemahan bebas: Datang, Kerjakan, Pulang] itu sih? Anyway, selama hampir seminggu menginap di ibukota Sumatera Utara itu, saya mendapatkan pengalaman dan hal-hal yang sangat menarik di sana.
Let me show you some things about Medan:
- Terminal kedatangan bandara Polonia : baggage claim-nya sangat sangat tidak nyaman. Turun dari pesawat dengan tangga, kami harus berjalan menuju gedung bandara. Sesampainya di sana, disambutlah kami dengan pemandangan jejeran penumpang yang daerah kedatangannya tercampur-campur mengerubuti conveyor belt bagasi yang kecil dan sedikit. Belum lagi gerombolan manusia yang dengan susah payah mencari-cari barang bawaannya di antara koper-koper yang ditumpuk di pojokan terminal kedatangan, tepat di samping conveyor belt. Lagipula, kami tidak bisa tahu barang bawaan dari daerah kami ada di mana - apakah di tumpukan koper-koper itu atau di conveyor belt yang saat itu belum berjalan. Maka kami berdesakan dengan orang-orang yang juga kerepotan akan ketidaknyamanan pengambilan bagasi ini.
- Kota Multietnis / Mixing Pot : Unik, Medan adalah kota yang terdiri dari bermacam-macam suku yang menghuninya juga berbagai jenis budaya yang menghiasinya.Yang terlihat menonjol di daerah sana adalah suku Cina dan Melayu. Jarang saya temui masyarakat Jawa yang menetap di Medan. Pertama kami tiba di Medan, setelah keluar dari Bandara Polonia, bus yang kami tumpangi melewati jalan-jalan cukup sempit yang kata pemandunya berjuluk 'Jalan Cina' karena jalan tersebut didominasi oleh kebanyakan Ruko pedagang-pedagang suku Cina. Kami juga sempat melewati Rumah Tjong A Fie yang katanya adalah pedagang Cina 'legendaris' pertama yang datang ke Medan.
- Becak Motor : Becak versi Medan berbeda dengan becak yang kebanyakan berada di Pulau Jawa. Becak di Medan dioperasikan dengan motor yang dipasang di bagian kanan kursi penumpangnya yang berkapasitas 3 orang. Kami-kami yang pendatang ini biasanya menyebutnya 'bentor' (becak motor, entah darimana huruf 'n'-nya --') tetapi orang-orang asli Medan tetap menyebutnya becak. Bahkan supir-supir 'bentor' yang biasa standby di depan hotel kami sering menawarkan jasa, "becak, bang?" sambil membuat gestur orang mengendarai motor. Apa, coba?
- Pengemis? : Pernah saya baca di sebuah majalah di sana, tentang kedatangan seorang wartawan dari daerah lain yang dipandu seorang wartawan asal Medan. Menurut artikel, dia sempat dicegat di depan tenda acara pembukaan OSN oleh seorang pengemis yang kemudian meminta uang sekitar 8000 rupiah. Lalu si wartawan luar itu menjawab bahwa dia hanya memiliki 6000, dan lantas memberikannya kepada si pengemis. Wartawan Medan tertawa terbahak-bahak sembari menyahut, "Ini Medan, Bung! Orang minta-minta boleh menentukan jumlah uang yang diminta!" Hah? Saya sendiri juga heran. Kok bisa? Yah, soal benar tidaknya, saya tidak berani menjamin...
- Oleh-Oleh Legendaris : Sepulang jalan-jalan, yang biasa diberikan kepada sanak famili di rumah tentu makanan khas. Nah, Medan punya andalannya. Yang saya kenal baik (makanan apa orang?) ya Bika Ambon, Lapis Legit dan Bolu. Entah bolu apa, yang sering saya makan adalah Bika Ambon. Kenapa kok dinamakan Bika Ambon, bukan Bika Medan? Ah, konon dulu makanan 'Bika' yang terkenal enak dan digemari adalah 'Bika' yang dijual di Jalan Ambon yang memang ada di Medan. Makanya disebut Bika Ambon...
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