Selamat Hari Blogger Nasional!

Teruntuk para blogger, apapun situsnya (blogspot, wordpress, tumblr, dll), saya ucapkan SELAMAT HARI BLOGGER NASIONAL!!

Mari menulis, mari menulis apapun yang kita sukai, asal tidak merugikan orang lain. Menulislah untuk diri sendiri, namun ingatlah, mungkin ada anak-anak di bawah umur yang membaca tulisan kita. Mungkin ada orang-orang yang sensi dengan topik yang kita tulis, just be careful and polite.

Dan satu lagi, stop mem-publish tulisan BAJAKAN alias copy-paste dari sumber lain tanpa mencantumkan sumbernya. Be original!! Semakin mudah untuk mengenali apakah post-post di blog itu merupakan hasil copy-paste atau bukan (bersyukurlah ada mbah Google dan tanda kutip dua " di keyboard).

Tulisanmu mungkin menginspirasi entah berapa orang,

Tulisanmu mungkin menghidupkan kembali harapan di hati entah berapa orang,

Tulisanmu mungkin memberi pengetahuan dan wawasan baru di hati entah berapa orang,

Tulisanmu mungkin membuat entah berapa orang membatin, "ternyata bukan aku saja yang merasakan ini"",

Tulisanmu mungkin membuat entah berapa orang berpikir "tidak pernah kusangka ada hal seperti itu di dunia ini",

Tulisan-tulisanmu sungguh berarti!

(Namun ingatlah, tulisanmu mungkin membuat entah berapa orang merasa tersakiti...)

Menurutku, blogwalking itu menyenangkan, mengetahui bagaimana orang-orang berpikir dan melihat dunia ini. Hehe, enggak munafik sih, ada juga tipe-tipe tulisan yang bikin boring, yaitu yang...

• Terlalu teknis atau bersifat keilmuan. Orang lain yang enggak punya minat yang sama, akan bosan dan malas untuk membacanya. Yang bersifat praktis umumnya lebih menarik (misal, tulisan "Ayo Olahraga!" yang isinya informasi dan tips-tips dengan bahasa santai will be more likely to be read daripada "Hubungan Kuantitatif Frekuensi Olahraga dengan Kapasitas Paru-Paru" yang isinya penuh dengan istilah-istilah ilmiah dan bahasa yang njlimet). Tapi menurutku penting juga lho nulis tulisan yang "nerd" banget alias ilmiah sekali-kali di blog. Sering saat browsing aku menemukan postingan blog yang sepertinya isinya cukup dapat dipercaya. Emang gak bisa dijadikan referensi satu-satunya sih, tapi kan setidaknya bisa membimbing kita untuk berkenalan dengan tentang suatu topik, sebelum mencari referensi lain yang lebih valid, misal jurnal, atau textbook.

• Terlalu bersifat curcol, curhatan panjang banget, yang dibicarain muter-muter pula dan enggak jelas kesimpulannya apa (wooops aku banget nih, haha, blog kok isinya curhatan semua, gak papa ya, gak usah dibaca juga gak apa-apa kok). Mungkin lebih baik kalau satu postingan itu isinya tentang satu topik curhatan aja kali ya...jangan diborong beberapa topik dicurhatin di satu tulisan. Yang ini relatif sih, tergantung penulisnya...ada blog yang isinya curhatan patah hati semua, tapi karena bloggernya piawai, jadinya bagus! Dan terlepas dari kegalauan yang dituliskannya, kita tetap merasakan keindahan dari tulisan-tulisannya.

• Tulisan yang menceritakan rangkaian kegiatan seharian, dari bangun pagi sampai tidur lagi ngapain, hehe..maaf aku kurang menikmati tipe-tipe tulisan "a Day with You" seperti ini. Menurutku, lebih menarik untuk bercerita tentang satu kegiatan saja, atau lebih baik lagi, cuma menceritakan salah satu potongan kejadian yang benar-benar menarik saja. Lagi-lagi, ini bersifat sangat relatif yaa...orang lain mungkin beda.

• Blog dengan desain yang terlalu rame, dan atau dengan background yang mencolok sehingga tulisannya enggak terbaca jelas, oh sayang sekali. Cuma masalah selera ini enggak bisa di-hitam putihkan ya, ada juga yang lebih suka dengan desain yang playful. 

Tapi tapi tapi...walaupun membosankan dan tidak kubaca sampai selesai, aku mengapresiasi para blogger yang sudah menulis dan mem-publish entri itu. Salut untuk mereka yang bisa meluangkan waktu, menemukan topik, memandangi komputer lama-lama hanya untuk nge-blog. Apalagi kalau dilengkapi dengan foto-foto jepretan sendiri. Bagus! Salut untuk kepercayaan diri mereka menekan opsi "Publish". Salut untuk originalitas mereka :)))

Teruslah menulis!

Tirai Kaca di Depanku... 0:

About 3 weeks ago i went to a fair, in which my eyes got tested for its refractometric normality. The machine said that i have a myopia, -1.25 in my right eye and -0.2 in my left. So? "It needs a further manual assessment" the operator said. I told my mother about the result, then my father give me some money to get my eye checked, and...to get a new glasses.

And now, i am wearing a glasses and i don't really like the fact that i have a myopia. Based on further examination, it's (-1.25) in my right eye and (~0) on my left eye. Yeah right, with my left eye i could read ALL of the letters in Snellen's chart from about 6 metres distance, so my left eye actually has a normal visus of 6/6. But with my right eye, i failed to read the letters in third row.

The ophthalmologist, a gorgeous and beautiful aged woman, said that my left eye is dominating my sight, therefore i might still be able to see clearly without many problems. But my eyes' tension is high, didn't really understand what does that mean...and i asked her to prescribe me a glasses. She asked if i was really sure about wearing glasses. I never supposed she asked for my agreement, i thought she would make me get a glasses or contacts and would be frightening me if i were disagree. But she asked me first and i barely felt any pressure to get a new glasses. Nice.

"So, are you sure you want a glasses?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, i am sure" Actually i tried to make sure of myself.

"Okay, it's not good for your eyes through, to force them accommodating all the time"

Yeah, i know doc, only the masochistics would choose not to wear any glasses or contacts even if they know that their eye has a myopia of -1.25.

She then proceed to put a weird-shaped frame on my face, closed my left eye and tried on some lenses on me.

"It's (1.25) dioptri, now please try to read those letters", she turned on a projector which used as a Snellen's chart. I could read it easily.

"Good, now try a (-1) dioptri". I still read those letters right.

"Hey, it still works. Now try (-0.75)". I tried to read the letters.

"I can read them all, but it's not as clear as before".

And for my right eye, first she put on (-0.5) dioptri. It felt comfortable. She changed it to (-0.25). The letters blurred a bit.

"So, (-1) and (-0.5), is it comfortable?"

"Yeah, i think so"

She wrote a prescription for me. But it wasn't a prescription which begins with an "R/" (which is abbreviation of "recipe" or "take (these ingredients)" for the pharmacist. It's a prescription for the technician to make my glasses. She is a cool person i think, she talked me about random things other than just discussing my eyes.

"Will it ever be better, doc?" I asked when she finished and i was about to leave.

"What is your age, mbak? Have you reached your sweet seventeen?"

I was thinking proudly "wow, this gorgeous lady has a young and honest eyes", hahaha.

"Seventeen? no, i mean, yes, i already passed my seventeen...it was like almost four years ago actually".

"Well, if you've reached the end of your growing phase, it's not likely that your myopia will get worse. So, eat a good amount of vegetables and fruits, and don't sleep too late at night".

Wow, is that (sleep too late) bad for my eyes too? All right. It's bad for my facial skin and it's bad for my eyes also. Actually it's bad for many things. Will i ever be able to sleep early every night? Hmmm.

Then I go to the optician. I spent a long 30 minutes trying to find a frame that suited my face. It's not as fun as going shopping like i mostly enjoy, huhu, i was just sad because i have to wear glasses. There would be 'something' in my face. BTW, actually i wanted to wear a wide-framed glasses, just like Detective Conan does.

He is looking great with his glasses, isn't he?
(source )

I imagined myself wearing a worn-out jeans, a baggy checkered shirt, a sneakers and that wide-framed eye glasses. Haha, not so me. That small boyish, old-school side of me thinks that wide-framed eyeglasses with a rectangular, bold, and dark-colored frame would be so cool! But to the best of my observation, that kind of frame is not available in the optician's. So i choose a full framed, tortoise red color. The frame is not really wide, though. 


So, the next day, my glasses are done and ready to be wore. God, it's so clear! I hadn't been known that the trees in the north of my room should be this clear in my sight. I always thought it was normal for the trees to be seen a little bit blurred, because it's far from my room. Now i know it's not. It's just my eyes. With this glasses, it's so clear and defined. I put the glasses on and off just to see the differences. This is how a vision should be! Glasses is a great invention of humankind :)


But the next day when i was wearing glasses in class, oh it's not comfortable! I haven't gotten used to my glasses...in about 10 minutes, the lenses (especially the left lenses) becomes blurry T.T It's because i adjust the height of my glasses and...woops! my eyelid, my oily eyelid, strikes the lenses and voila, my vision blurred because my facial oil flaws my lenses. Then when i was doing a laboratory activities, the frames consistently dropped a little bit in my tiny nose, hihi. So with my right arm i tried to adjust it (my fingers are wrapped in a latex gloves to prevent contacts with any chemicals, and you don't want that full-of-chemical-reagents-gloves to touch and damage your face). When i adjust it, the lenses became blurry again because it striked my eyelids, arrgghh!


Later i was bored and put off my glasses. My vision, which is a little bit used with the aid of the lenses, blurred a bit. But in my very humble opinion, it's still more comfortable, hehe. I like to put off my glasses when i was talking with someone else, too, because with this glasses, i feel like i don't look at he/she in their eyes (like old saying "Never believe someone who can't look into your eyes"). But I don't want to stress my eyes more, though, so i have to adapt myself to this glasses. I want to wear a clear contact lens actually, so there wouldn't be anything covering my face. But realizing that i normally don't have enough time to get ready in the morning, maybe contacts is not the best solution for me. And how if it irritate my eyes? Lasik surgery is not an option, it's soooo unimaginably expensive.


People's opinion?
"Look who's got a new glasses" (a crowd).
"Heh, now you are wearing a glasses?? Since when?? What dioptri??" (the most popular first comment).
"Wow, you look more persistent. You should be wearing it at the final yesterday" (my junior in college).
"Beautiful, kok" (my mom).
"Lucky your eyes don't have silindris too like i do..but why do you choose a full-framed one? It looks like Siti Nurbaya, LOL" (the girl next door a.k.a my room neighbor, which i replied "but I like it!).
"You look like one of those "G40eL" kids in that popular live music show, haha" (my friend, a girl).
"I think your glasses would suit a boy's face, i want a glasses like that!" (my friend, a guy).
"You must be studying too much" (a friend, lab partner).
"So you are wearing eyeglasses? Maybe i have to see an ophtalmologist too...." (my brother)
"How many pharmacy students who has a normal eyes?" (my college friend).
"May i try your eyeglasses?" (friend that has myopia too) 


So, welcome eyeglasses....i bought a new mascara and pencil eyeliner, to experiment with my eyes...hehe, it's so fun to try a make-up every now and then, just not everyday. I want to review the products later...actually i find some great and worth buying products, hope i find another chance to write more post tagged "Pharmacist Recommended". 
Have a good life, readers!

Craving for a Song: Puzzle of My Heart (Westlife)

Pernah nggak merasakan sebuah craving alias kepinginnn banget akan sesuatu? Misalnya gara-gara denger orang ngomongin es krim, jadi pingin banget makan es krim. Sampai bisa membayangkan sensasi padatan es krim pelan-pelan mencair di lidah, lalu kita akan mendecapnya sebentar dengan nikmat, manis dan gurih creamy, kemudian es krim yang sudah meleleh itu meluncur mulus ke kerongkongan, slurrp! Meninggalkan rasa sedikit lengket di belakang mulut, yang bisa dihilangkan dengan mudah kalau kita minum air putih.

Jujur aku cukup sering merasakan hal seperti itu, kepingin banget sampai bisa membayangkan tiap detailnya. Kalau makanan tidak terlalu sering sih, yang sering itu biasanya justru keinginan untuk melakukan sesuatu, misal pergi ke suatu tempat, nulis tentang sesuatu, beli sesuatu, atau mendengarkan lagu tertentu. Yeah, a random side of me...pada malam hari kadang aku merenung "ngimpi apa kemarin, kok sekarang sudah melakukan ini". Misal, memutuskan untuk periksa ke dokter mata (i'll be writing about that later), memutuskan untuk meninggalkan 10 menit terakhir kuliah kemudian nekat ikut seleksi lomba konseling tahun lalu, memutuskan untuk mencuci motor di antara jeda kuliah, memutuskan untuk mulai menyampul semua buku dan novelku, hahaha, mengingat itu semua, aku jadi bertanya-tanya "labil-kah aku??". Untung aja gak pernah melakukan sesuatu yang life-changing dan irreversible dengan random, hehe.

Sering, aku tiba-tiba kepingin banget dengerin satu lagu tertentu. Seharian, rasanya lagu itu diputer di otak dan kepingin nyanyiin lagu itu terus. Tiba-tiba keinget liriknya dan tersadar "liriknya bagus juga ya, baru kerasa". 

• Dulu pernah seharian di kampus pingin banget denger lagunya Only Girl (Rihanna) tapi yang di-cover sama Mike Tompkins, sampai kebayang-bayang suara synthesizer yang ditiruin sama si Mike. 
• Pernah tiba-tiba pingin banget denger "Just Stand Up", lagu yang diciptakan dan dinyanyikan oleh beberapa vokalis wanita terkenal, didedikasikan buat para pasien kanker payudara. 
• Pernah tiba-tiba teringat lagu yang liriknya "nothing gonna change my love for you...". Itu lagunya siapa juga awalnya gak tahu, tiba-tiba melintas aja tanpa permisi, haha. Begitu ada kesempatan langsung browsing liriknya.
• Lagunya Monita "Kisah yang Indah", suara lembutnya, terdengar berharap-harap namun juga yakin, menyanyikan "jangan berhenti, kau yakinkan pasti...cinta ini".
• Tiba-tiba terbayang Sherina, terkesan tegas tanpa ragu menyanyikan "bila suatu saat nanti kau harus pergi, jangan paksa aku 'tuk cari yang lebih baik" dengan suaranya yang indah dan terlatih dengan baik.
• Pernah juga di jalan Yogya-Kudus tiba-tiba kepingin banget denger lagunya Maroon 5 yang She Will be Loved. Keinget suara basnya yang berdentum-dentum di awal lagu. Keinget suaranya Mr. Levine dengan suara (yang buatku terdengar seperti) membujuk menyanyikan "tap on my window, knock on my door...." dan "i know where you hide, alone in your car, know all of the things that made you who you are...". Untung bawa mp3 player. Sayangnya sekarang mp3 player itu hilang karena terjatuh (tercecer?) dari motor T.T 

Dan tahukah, kalau craving seperti itu sudah muncul, maka yang akan kulakukan adalah mendengar lagu itu terus berulang-ulang sampai berjam-jam bahkan berhari-hari tanpa lagu lainnya. Untung headset sudah ditemukan ya, kasihan temen-temen kosku kalau harus mendengar satu lagu diputer berulang-ulang dari kamarku, haha. 

And now, the song which i am obsessed to is...Puzzle of My Heart. Ini lagu lama di-remake, aku enggak tahu seniman aslinya, aku tahunya lagu ini di-cover oleh Westlife. Pertama kali denger lagu ini kelas 5 atau kelas 6 SD, saat Westlife masih jaya-jayanya. Oh, and i feel the need to mention that i was a big fan. I am still a fan, walaupun tidak update dengan lagu-lagu baru mereka. Lirik lagu ini bagus...bercerita tentang cinta sih, tapi entah kenapa terdengar tulus dan enggak terlalu gombal. Atau mungkin lagu ini sebenarnya gombal dan idenya pun sederhana saja, tapi dikemas dengan bagus. Mana vokalnya bagus menurutku, enggak ngerti sih tekniknya, yang penting terdengar bagus :) Dan aku tergoda untuk mengira-ngira sendiri artinya, hehe (mumpung di blog pribadi, kebiasaan sok tahu dipuas-puasin). Ini lagu yang lumayan eksplisit sih menurutku, perumpamaannya enggak separah lagu-lagu cinta lain yang biasanya, ckckck, lebai! Hehe. Pokoknya lagu ini bagus menurutku :D

Ini dia liriknya (diambil dari AZ Lyrics):

"Puzzle Of My Heart"

It's the way she fills my senses
(kalo kata ilmuwan, salah satu tanda cocok secara genetik itu emang tertarik secara fisik sih, sama the one you always feel attracted to, one who is able to wake up all of your senses...tapi lagu ini bukan ngomongin nafsu yang sekedar memuja fisik aja)
It's the perfume that she wears
I feel I'm losing my defenses 
To the colour of her hair

(suka deh sama lirik lagu yang memiliki rhyme seperti ini, senses is rhymed with defenses...hehe selera Melayu mungkin, suka yang seperti pantun? Dan artinya bagus juga, ketika ia bertemu dengan seseorang yang dicintainya, semua tembok pertahanannya runtuh...ya gitu deh. Aku ngerasa "colour of her hair" dan "perfume that she wears" itu cuma sesuatu untuk diinget aja, bukan berarti si subyek ini mencintai seseorang karena fisiknya aja)

And every little piece of her is right
Just thinking about her
Takes me through the night

(woow, gombal kelas kakap nih yang lirik "thinking about her takes me through the night", artinya si subyek mampu memikirkan si obyek cintanya semalaman...dasar gombal. Tapi bagus sih)

[Chorus]
Every time we meet
The picture is complete

(Berima lagi "meet" rhymed with "complete" yeah, this is how people always talk about, kedatangan cinta itu melengkapi hidup)

Every time we touch
The feeling is too much

(Berima lagi)

She's all I ever need

To fall in love again

(kadang kegagalan cinta itu traumatis, tapi akan ada seseorang yang menjadi alasan bagi seseorang untuk jatuh cinta lagi)

I knew it from the very start, 

she's the puzzle of my heart

(well, "she" melengkapi hidupnya si subyek, seperti potongan puzzle yang udah lama dicari)

It's the way she's always smiling

That makes me think she never cries

(mungkin keceriaan dari "she" itu yang membuat si subyek jatuh cinta...tapi siapa yang tidak ceria kalau bersama dan saling mencintai? cailah)

I feel I'm losing my defences

To the colour of her eyes

(Again, menurutku "colour of her eyes" bukan berarti si subyek jatuh cinta gara-gara demen sama fisiknya aja. Colour of her eyes itu cuma pengingat, dan melihat warna mata dan rambutnya, si subyek merasa ia tidak perlu berpura-pura, tidak perlu 'build a wall'...because he's losing his defenses)

And every little piece of her is right

(Well, namanya juga lagu gombal ya, harap maklum...tapi pernah gak denger kata-kata "seolah ia Dicipta sesuai keinginanku"? Si subyek ngerasa cocok banget sama cintanya itu)

[Chorus]

Like a miracle she's meant to be

She became the light inside of me

(Dicintai itu membuat si subyek merasa kuat, merasa bersinar, pokoknya merasa hidupnya lebih indah, karena si "she" itu)

And I can feel her like a memory

From long... ago

(Aww, paling suka sama baris ini! Saking cocoknya, walaupun baru kenal tapi si subyek ngerasa udah kenal luar dalam sejak dulu sama obyek cintanya itu. Seperti memori dari masa lalu, memori yang indah pastinya. Dan bait ini dinyanyikan dengan pas banget oleh Mark, dengan suaranya yang tinggi-tinggi gimana...gitu)

Hehe, sok tahu banget ya aku...ada yang punya interpretasi lain?

Alhamdulillah (again)

Maka, nikmat Allah mana yang akan kamu dustakan?

(So, which one of His gift you want to deny?)

Dear Allah, please let me remember this day clearly when i get frustrated, sad, or angry next day...please keep remembering this little creature of You who complains and hates, sometimes. Please keep remembering me.

You must be loving me. A lot. And Your love is beyond everything that a human can give of.

So Allah, alhamdulillah is all i can say. My mind processes many things today, and my today's word quota today is already running out for speaking to myself and to say "thanks" to them who have supported me a lot. I barely can say anything else today, but "Alhamdulillahhi rabbil 'alamin" defines everything.

Allah, let me dedicated mine today to that two lovely people. Two people who never ask me everything more than me being well.

Yes, they never ask me to achieve something, never. But it has always been my pleasure to draw a smile in their faces. To make them proud. To make people know that they are succeeded in raising me. 

I know i am not a perfect person, I have to keep learning day by day and there will be many obstacles in my way. But despite all of my imperfections, let me dedicate something... 

THIS IS FOR MY PARENTS :))

i love you, and this is for you...my mom and my father :')