end of the semester

im finally done with all the excruciating exams.. did not do well on that last one.. and i regretted like hell.. i was just too lazy and to exhausted from the previous three exams,, now im kinda wondering why didn't i just try my best and pushed myself even harder?

maybe it's just my bad habit to not go for the best.. i could have done better or at least tried harder.. even though some said that I've tried hard enough.

many things happened during this past month. Namboru Sonti passed away a day before MPO exams, which kept me crying all morning. i was planning to have an easy day, a regular routine going to the syndicate room at 2pm since that day was the first day after IB exam where i didnt have to meet anyone in the morning. ended up with tears and wondered why so many bad things happened during my brief stay in melbourne.

thought that having a "brother" would shift my life into a different direction, yet storms and thunders kept on halting my journey. forcing me to try and strive more. im just worried that i might not have the strength to handle it.

another stupidity that i could have avoided. falling for a kid. why do i always do that? being able to spot a potential companion is a good thing, but.. i need to put more attention on when the potential becomes a real quality.. and need to make sure that it is potential now instead of maybe 3 or 4 years from now..

my results will be out in nov 30th. dont know how it will turn out. im keeping my fingers crossed for the time being. My not-too-old mobile went into the pool at bayu's apartment. since i was the one suggesting that cut to be shoved into the pool, the gank decided to throw in every one else including me.. but failed to secure my mobile since the person who was holding my mobile got shoved in also. i just dont get why this series of unfortunate events kept on appearing. well, i can only hope for the best. my series of unfortunate events stays in the area of my gadgets and not my family or myself or my study.

gonna be dancing at justin timberlake concert this sunday with jingga.. gonna have a blast.. i hope..

cheers mate..

the end is the beginning

im almost done with the last assignment. finally the agony is ending.. but guess what.. how ironic it is to be a student in a foreign land.. you dont get to rest.

my exam is less than a month away, after this weekend, hardwork is written all over it.. LET'S fight till the END!!!! never give up..

i need to do this right.

there's always HOPE.

howdy ...

i finally nailed my group presentation today. Got my first HD.. got 9.5 out of 10. hard work paid off.. although it's only 10 percent of the total mark.. but im extremely satisfied. it turns out, it's not impossible to get that sacred mark and i can if i tried HARD!!!

called ndut right after the class.. relief and joy clouded my day.. nothing was more rewarding than getting the resulf of you hard work appreciated.

and my day ended with a nice dinner at an indian restaurant (which i wouldnt do on a regular basis) with excellent company :d wish i could have more days like this from now on.. i know i know.. hard work is demanded.. but if all turns out like this.. im all for it.

lessons learned.. ask if you dont know... work hard like there's no tomorrow and everything will fall into place.

cheers

GraCia.. - me who cant stop smiling....

It's time to move on and fight back

got my results back.. for my second assignment. not the end of the world. and i could have done better and i will try my best to do better.

enough panicking and complaining and spending endless nights in fear. now, it's time to fight back and move on...

hopefully, i can learn and do more and achieve more.

wish me luck.

Phillip the Penguin

hehehe..

another outing with monash international student service unit. phillip island .. ladies n gentlemen..

after surviving through hell week.. i finally get to go out and enjoy the scenery..
went to Koala Conservation Park though i didnt get to take a picture with the koala.. and Cowes.. "the downtown", The nobbies and penguin parade.

i didnt get a enough time to stay at these places, but the penguin parade was really cute eventhough i cant take pictures and again hold them heheheh :D

enjoy the pic.. i cant really articulate that many words at the moment, but they say that picture paints a thousand word.

first defeat

real life..

the hard truth that we all have to face. among all, accepting a defeat is not enough. one needs to rise and fight back in order to survive. this first battle slipped through my hand. no intention of letting the next to be the same.

i need to get a grip and fight back. i've been told so many times that i am capable. this is the time when i need to prove that i am. not sure how im going to do it yet. but i need to do it fast.

wish me luck.

a rough beginning

wish me luck guys. im beginning to stress out..

"keeping my fingers crossed"

SNOW!!!!!

another day to celebrate one of the greatest day in my life.

i took a trip to Mount Baw Baw, 3-hours drive from melbourne, to see snow. the night before on a cafe near Melbourne Uni, i was told by the owner that there's nothing to see there. No snow, no skiing, felt kinda dissapointed but still up for the trip.




on the contrary.. it was worth it.. tons of snow, cool skiing ground and even snow storms. jeezz.. cant hope for more. it was the perfect day to hang out in the snow hehe... Cut decided to come to melbourne in a heart beat and was lucky enough to get a place.



so the drive there felt long mainly because the night before we hung out till late and went to bed late while we had to wake up early to be at Robert Blackwood hall at 7pm. but once i saw the snow, man... it was like im in wonderland. finally, after years of wondering when will i see snow... my time has come to feel it hehehe..

got my self walking boots, pants, and a jacket to keep me from the cold and a toboggan (one of those small slide). and i was ready to go. didnt try skiing though, saving that for another time, because of the possible injuries that might occur if i try to do it.




i dont even know how to describe how i felt anymore.. it was exquisite, exciting, fun and joyful. to be able to have so much fun with my best friends and to come home with such awesome picture (courtesy of kincling and ario) and ended with a lovely dinner of pepper and salt BBQ pork spare ribs at chinese caulfield.

definitely the highlight of my stay here in melbourne so far.

More Museums

the last excursion of my IAP program. cant believe i finally finished it.

the end of the fifth week

cant believe it's finish. 5 weeks of fun time and joking around has ended. sad, happiness, relief and confusion suddenly cloud me.

happy that i dont have anymore IAP and finally get a chance to free myself from javanese language, sad because i would have to spend the extra effort if i wanna hang out with the clayton gang. relief that i managed to finish the task eventhough it was not as satisfying as i expected and finally i dont know what to do for the holiday.

gosh.. you would think that living abroad is such an exciting experience to all extent.. but im starting to doubt it. especially that im extremely petrified of what's ahead. assignments... writing assignments.. will i be able to do it and finish it and get good grades.. i know writing is not exactly my greatest quality.. but i want to try yet afraid of failing. cant i just present my assignments verbally i can guarantee you that it would be 10x better that my writing.

but maybe i have to stop looking at it like that. when will i improve if im myself is certain that i cant do it. look at me.. im writing in english as im typing this. ironic isnt it?

i dont know that to do.. as usual the same old saying.. just deal with it.. suits me best i think.

just so i remember.. the chances of getting a fling is slimmming. i dont know why. im just a picky, self-indulgent prick i think.

practice ah.. makes perfect la...

a student would ask her teacher, "miss.. how can i improve my english?" and her teacher would answer "well, you know the answer to that my dear. practice makes perfect".

if i were the student i would say "yeah right!!!"

ideally speaking, practising your english IN an english speaking country would be the ultimate solution to improve you english. at least i would think that way, but what if.. you are in an english speaking country, yet everyone around you speaks your native language... well ladies and gentlemen,say bye-bye to your english.

this is exactly how i feel, before i go into details, this post is not meant to discourage anyone or any instituion, it's just a mere frustration of mine, i think it's that time of the month that i get cranky over stupid things.

back to my explanation, it;s been a month living in an english speaking country, yet i just realized that i am probably only using 20 percent of my english-speaking ability. now, why is that?

first and foremost, im not teaching english anymore, goodbye to at least 4 hours of speaking english a day.
secondly, im around people that speak english, yet they all dont use it or only listen to people speak english and reply in bahasa...

ARGHHHHH!!!!

if this is how it's gonna be from now on, then i dont think i will come back to my home country with an OZ accent. moreover, an OZ friend hehehe. cant believe at the number of my people in this city alone. gosh... hehhe.. the weather sure feels like another country, yet, im still living my old life, even less..

dont really know what to do with it, especially because i found new, cool, exciting acquaintances hehhe.. hopefully this will change. most of my friends join clubs and english society to gain a better practice in english when we are in INDO yet.. once we got here, we just switch back to our native language. huh? is this a pattern? people basically want to speak a language that is not commonly used in a country? so that people wont understand if we're talking about them? or simply we dont feel comfortable about our english profieciency?

enlight me please??

Healesville Sanctuary

another round of excursion with my IAP class, actually with everyone in this course :P. before i begin my story, i just want to say that it feels really good to have finished my assingment heheh. i know it's lame and only 1500 words, but hey. i did it.. my first one, hundreds to come.



Now, my journey started with as you can see six degrees celsius in Clayton and by the time we get to healesville, it felt like the temperature dropped 3 degrees.God.. freakin cold there.

this one would be trying to smile as if didnt feel like zero degree.

the tour started here, FYI healesville sanctuary only have animal of australian origin, so emmu, wombats, kanggaru, wallaru, wallabies, the birds of prey, dingo, and for sure tazmanian devil.

i was hoping to see this particular devil in action.. but i guess it's not my luck. the devil was taking his afternoon nap when i got there, so i got a snapshot of the stuffed one instead.

can u see him napping? some devil eh??

dont hate me for this, but honestly i forgot the name of this bird hehe.. but they were let loose in the sanctuary, so you can get an up close look of this bird freely, but you wouldnt want to get too close, they bite. Jingga almost got bitten when i was taking her picture near this bird but dont tell her.. she didnt know. ups...

me listening to heartbeat of different animals. i get to play doctor, so the brown thing you see inside that glass is the heart of a kanggaru, snake, and others. really a snake hearbeat is not something you would want to hear twice

the one place where you could be avoided hehhee.. this sign was in the Australian wildlife health centre, a hospital for injured animals inside the sanctuary.




see this is the actual place for the tazmanian devils, since he's asleep, we took his playground. WE DEVILS!!!


and last but not least, meet "pinky", some tree bird hehe she got yellow tongue and can turn into a tree-bark-like shape when he feels threathen. you know what, pinky here eats mouse *urgh* and our beloved doctor "ronny" fed him by hand. eiuh.. dead mouse ronny.. hellow???

overall, the trip was deliberating... it was nice to get away from buildings n campus centre for a day, the one hour trip was okay, my god... beautiful views but i was sleeping all the way that's why i got no picture of it. would do it again just to see the devil's in action.. roar...

i choose Bandung!!

regarding my previous post on developed and developing country... i have made my decision

several things helped me made my decision.. but.. this conclusion is subjected to change. who knows.. i might enjoy living here more as i go along.

firstly, i understand that everything here (melbourne) has a procedure that we have to follow. for example when someone is sick or fell down, we can immediately help them , well we can but we have to be aware of the consequences, because there's actually a law that allows the person that we help to sue us if their condition got worst. Isnt that just creepy?

where i come from, when someone fell down, people come and help. but not here,,, hehhe i understand also that yes when you fall down here and scream "HELP" people will help you.. but if you dont.. then .. beware.. This is where i agree that my hometown is friendlier sometimes too friendly.

what happened was ... im on a train to the city, meeting point for my 3rd excursion, and suddenly the train i was in stopped. the rain was an old one looked exactly like "jabodetabek" train or probably a "depok" train. it turns out that the train before us had to wait for an ambulance because someone in that train was "ill". Due to safety procedure, no one wants to more the "ill" person therefore the train remain still in south yarra station and delayed my train for like 35 minutes.

i was like.. "what da f**&????" why cant anyone carry that sick person inside the station so that the train can move along and my train can pass?? back home, people would immediately move that "ill" person (without thinking that it might be bad for him to be moved) and get the train going or probably some will jump off the train and continue their journey. hahhaha.. come to think of it.. still we can get to a certain point faster or longer in jakarta, but same or longer here.
on this point, i pick bandung hehhe.. everything is close to get around, not too bad of traffic and public transport is feasible.

secondly, the weather.. my dear GOD... im freezing my ass of here.. yes i wanted to taste four season in a year. but this is madness. but luckily so far i can manage. Jakarta, well most people would say jakarta is hot and dirty,,, but surabaya is hotter and cirebon -a big NO NO- again, i choose Bandung. we can get all the sun we need and still not sweat at all day long.

finally, places to go shopping and transport when carrying a large amount of stuffs. Jakarta or Bandung or any other major cities in Indo, you can easily hail a bluebird when you are carrying lots of things, yes the fare is much more expensive that catching the bus, but it's worth it (excluding heavy traffic condition). Here.. hehheh we carry everything by ourselves and taxi fares are ridiculous compare to bus or tram. eventhough we can catch the bus or tram, it would still be hard when you are carrying lots and lots of things.

conclusion, jakarta may be too hectic n crowded but i know my way around and i'll probably be able to do the same here. yet, bandung was never too much of a hassle for me.. and the weather is just perfect. enough sun and perfect evening(especially for hanging out).

agree??

interesting P.o.V

most people i met here or known that has been or had lived abroad, mostly said that they wish they dont have to come back home (a.k.a the hustling and bustling Jakarta). Simply because the city and the country is the root of chaotic traffic and uncivilized citizen. No sense of order and structure, only uncertainty.

When talking about developed countries, for sure, order and structure and clarity in every means of living is established well by the government. Yes, it gives a sense of security that you may never get easily in a developing country (emphasize on "may never"... not never). But is it all that? i may not be that person that enjoy Jakarta very much, but it has never frustrated me to the point where i want to "get the hell outta here or im gonna die" situation (even when my house was flooded up to my thigh). Most of the time - for me - it's all about how you get yourself to go about it.

Im aware that there are a lot of things that needs to be fix by my government and they dont seem to be that eager to finish it. Nevertheless, do we really deal with this government issue every single day of our lives? so that would be enough to make someone leave?

then if your answer is yes, you would definitely be in the group that would never come back, and if your answer is no, most likely you are like me. You realise that Jakarta may no be the best city in the world to live in, but you dont mind living there due to certain situations and you are not eager to live anywhere else (unless you are offerd a job that pay 100K, hehhehee).

well... i cant draft my conclusion at the moment, but i know that dont mind going back. someone might leave their hometown out of many reasons. but putting those reasons aside (meaning personal issue) and just consider the demographic and geographic of the particular city, where would you live??

gone wild at the outback!!

warrok cattle farm it is .. ladies n gentlemen..

the second IAP excursion.. about 50 minutes drive from monash clayton.. and you're there..

the first thing we did once we got there.. was warm ourselves with some "dampar" - i have no clue on how to spell it, but festy said this is how to write it- and herbal tea. so brigitte -the guide- told us that this dampauw is the food tha people eat when they are in the outback, no steak n caviar of course hehhe.. you guys will see me making my own dampauw and burn it on the fire.

next..

after warming up tummy with dampauw and herbal tea.. we went of this "hay wagon"
to see how the sheep is guided by the dog so that we can touch their thick wool heheheh

and then.. from a "wooly" sheep to just a sheep heheheh

those wool was really soft, and when shredding the sheep you would always have to put and hold the sheep between your legs.

after the sheep.. they got cow -buttercup-, and you can see that im smiling when i was milking her yet i was petrified. then we went to see wombats.. fed kangguru's, goose and ducks. everything was so new to me. i know indonesia has cattle farm.. but never actually been in one. btw, everyone got a chance to milk buttercup rite, but after "Adji" tried, she took a dump hehhee, thank God i was nowhere near.

and the best part is.. FREE LUNCH!!! nice halal chicken with gravy and veggies.. served with australia's very own white and red wine.

until next time guys..

sunday my day

one very easy sunday...

started easy during the day.. no morning alarms.. no rush..

i ended up vaccuming my room, i decided that a little cleaning up was in order.. cleared my day from touring around melbourne's city but decided that i need to go out at some point in the day.

had a very lovely and delicious dinner at pinky pizza - who would have thought a joint like that has good taste heheheh - with gangs of 8weekers hehehe.. dont know why i cant stop typing "hehhehe" , it just so me ....

anyway.. still cant stop crying when i hear my mom's voice.. i do miss her and love her very much. i gotta be brave and motivated.. life is about challenge and getting our goals to make those who have sacrifice lots for us proud.

Mr. B is coming tomorrow.. dont really think i can hop by and meet him instantly.. but will try to find a way..

what else?? i thought i had lots of thoughts before i decided to make this blog.. where are they now?? hehhehehheheheh hopefully it will linger soon.. would be a total humiliation to leave this space blank :P

cheers

numero Uno

hi!

never thought i'd be tempted to make one of these free-for-all to see journal. but due to the circumstances, i decided there is no harm in trying... especially these past week i've been given an enlightment and thoughts throughout.. signifiying my journey in my new town. Melbourne.

so this is where my writing starts.. hopefully i'll enjoy it as much as i hope it would be..