Holiday is just..holiday... isn't it?

I've got my winter vacation holiday last week until the end of February. 1 month and 1 week.... long enough for me to do many things, like doing my research, travelling somewhere (alone because my husband is working haha), more blogging, or do anything useful and necessary.

But, it seems like holiday is holiday..isn't it?

It's time to lazy... watch TV all day long, play games in laptop, play social network, and do several unproductive things...

I did that this week.

The results are...

First, I didn't finish my research work which actually I can finish it in this week and ask for progress to my advisor.

Second, I didn't touch my blog for a week means I didn't accomplished my own target to post one blog each day with every different things.

Third, I didn't accomplished my Reading Challenge which is #TwoDays1Book, instead I just play The Sims 3 in my laptop all day long.

Fourth, I forget to make preparation for my travelling to Singapore and go back home to Indonesia 2 weeks later.

Fifth, my ToDoist lists are overdue for 4 days.

Crazy.. yeah it's crazy for me to think all of that again... I just spent my time to lazy around in this holiday. Maybe it's because holiday is coming and the feeling of freedom from school work and exhausted things are sooo big. My husband even said "you're too lazy these days" --"

I realized holiday is not just holiday.

Holiday means I can do anything I want to do without doing lazy things. I can be more productive than ever. I can do a lot of things that suspended during exam week several weeks ago. I can start to finish my projects. I can go travel and leave home for several hour to somewhere I've never been to. I also can be creative.

But, I think this past week, I didn't do that.  

I know maybe it's better for me to be productive again. Because sometimes after I sit down in front of my laptop all day long and play games, my head and eye are hurts. I felt sick immediately. Maybe because I didn't face the sun that I need for my eye health.

Become productive means I'm not only just sit in front of my laptop to do my works but also  go outside home and find different place to work, maybe cafe or park. Travel is also another option. Bring book is a must.

Play game is fine but need to be placed in appropriate time after my works done for that day. 

Social network need to be closed for several time because it can cause the distraction to my work focus.

Holiday is not about doing lazy things...but more than that. Become more Productive than ever.

[2Days1Book][Book Review] - Total Habibie

Source : deviantart.com

"... Kecil Tapi Otak Semua ... "

Kalimat ini adalah bagian kecil dari biografi seorang Habibie karya A. Makmur Makka. Tapi kalimat kecil ini bermakna sangat hebat.

Pak Habibie, Presiden ke-3 Republik Indonesia ini memang kecil badannya. Tapi isi badannya dari otak sampai kaki adalah otak semua.

Kalimat itu pasti disetujui oleh semua kalangan masyarakat.

Tapi tak banyak yang mengerti sosok seorang Habibie kecuali mantan presiden setelah Pak Harto, ada di era reformasi, sang pembuat pesawat, dan insinyur pintar lulusan jerman.

Biografi ini mengupas sosok seorang Habibie dengan cerita-cerita singkat, memori yang melekat, tanpa bentuk layaknya novel atau rangkaian cerita. Memori yang dituliskan dibentuk selayaknya cerpen dan flashback dari satu masa ke masa yang lain. Ini lah yang membuat biografi ini menarik.

Semua kisah tentang Pak Habibie mulai dari kisah cintanya dengan almarhum Ibu Ainun, semasa di bangku sekolah hingga kuliah di Jerman, semasa menjadi menteri, wakil presiden jaman Soeharto, dan presiden di era Reformasi, serta bagaimana beliau berkontribusi nyata dalam dunia penerbangan baik nasional maupun internasional.

Kejadian lucu, sedih, dan bahagia diaduk jadi satu di dalam buku ini.

Pantaslah jika judulnya adalah Total Habibie, karena memang mengupas tota kehidupan seorang Habibie.

Aku masih ingat ketika masih SD dulu ditanya oleh guru, "Kalau besar mau jadi apa?" jawaban seorang kawan laki-laki yang aku lupa siapa menjawab "Insinyur seperti Pak Habibie"

Ya... untuk anak seumuranku kala itu, Pak Habibie adalah sosok luar biasa. Sang Pembuat Pesawat Indonesia.

Buku ini membuatku merenung dan memikirkan... Pak Habibie yang berjuang demi bangsa..
Lalu aku, apa yang sudah aku lakukan untuk bangsa?
Apa yang bisa aku lakukan?
Apa yang bisa aku berikan untuk memajukan bangsa ini dengan ilmu yang aku miliki?
Apa aku sudah cukup berjuang untuk menggapai mimpi-mimpi indah ku?

Seperti kata Pak Habibie...

"Jangan tanyakan apa yang negara bisa berikan, 

tapi tanyakan apa yang bisa kau berikan kepada negara"

Tips and Trick Planning for Travel Abroad

As you know I'm Indonesian but live in Taiwan, so when I have holiday and money (of course) I will go back home. I just have my winter vacation and plan to go to Indonesia in the mid February because my husband has holiday in Chinese New Year, not like me as student who have more than 1 month holidays due to winter vacation. We have this plan since last month because we have to buy airplane ticket at least 2 months before so we can get cheaper price.

But, this trip is kinda different. We will not only going back home, but also trip to another country for several days, which is Singapore. Actually, before we also thought about Hong Kong but then we realized that it's more expensive and not worth enough to spend a lot of money. In Indonesia, we also have to plan our trip because we will go to several cities in 2 weeks. We know it will make us very tired, that's why we need a  proper planning for this trip.

When I tried to plan our trip, I realized it's not easy. There are many things need to be considered before choose the exact things to do. So, in here (after my planning finished of course) I want to share with you guys how to plan your trip abroad.

Set your TRAVEL DESTINATION

Travel destination mean country you want to go. For instance, in my case there are two destinations which are Hong Kong and Indonesia. But, you have to set the "main" destination first, so that the "secondary" destination can be changed based on several considerations.

For example, my main destination is Indonesia and my secondary destination is Hong Kong. But after set other things like budget, and things to do, I choose another country which is Singapore.

Set your DATE & TIME

My suggestion for you when set your date and time to go is that find a best date you can find without sacrifice your work. If you are student, wait until holiday. But, if you are master or PhD degree students, finish your research first before go or watch out your prof will angry to you. haha If you are employee, find a weekend (if you wanna go only for 2 days) or long holiday. If you need more days to travel, you can ask leave for several days to your boss as long as it's not going to interfere your works in office of course.

Another thing about time is try to find out the weather in your travel destinations. It's important to know about it because you don't want to be like in a wrong costume party, right? 

Set your BUDGET

You have to know how much money you can spend on your trips. Remember to not spend all of your money because in case you need some when you back home. Set aside several amount of money for your living. If you have plan to go abroad long before, you can save your money to your "travel only" saving. So, you will have several amount of money when time to travel arrive.

This budget can be adjust depends on your needs. But remember to follow your budget!!

The budgeting is include the transportation cost (airflight, MRT, taxi, bus, car rental, etc.), acomodation cost (hotel and eat), tickets (if you wanna go to amusement park or museums), etc.

Buy AIRPLANE TICKET

Actually it's kinda tricky because for people who are the first go abroad, maybe don't know about tips and trick to buy cheap airplane ticket. So, I'm here to telling you how. 

If you want to go abroad, buy at least 1,5 months before the travel date. So you can get cheaper price. 

Wanna buy using travel agent? you can do it. But choose properly. There are several agents that will give cheaper price than in airplane's website but several other will give more expensive price.

Low Cost Carrier (LCC) airplane can be a solution for you who want cheap ticket. But, cheap price means not really good service. Using LCC means need to buy baggage and meal out of ticket price. LCC is good for backpacker who only have one carry-on bag that can be put in the cabin.

But my suggestion for non-backpacker, you can try to find full-service airplane with cheap ticket. But this kind of airplane, sometimes will transit in other country before arrive in destination. If you want to spend more time to search, you can find several airplane which have transit time not too long. 

For example, last year when I went back to Indonesia from Taiwan, I choose Cathay Pacific which is full-service airplane (including 20kg baggage, 1 bag carry-on, service is good, the plane is big, entertainment included, and meal - Halal of course) and transit in Hong Kong for 3 hours. But 1,5 years ago I ever used Jetstar Airways which is LCC (I have to buy 20 kg baggage, no meal, the plane is small, and no entertainment) and transit in Singapore for 9 hours. Yes, I was sleeping in airport!!-.-" It's because I arrived in Singapore at 9 PM so I only can go to Merlion then go back to airport due to the MRT closing hour.

In my case, because I wanna go to 2 countries, we decided to buy 2 different airplane tickets. Taiwan-Singapore and Singapore-Indonesia. The result is we will stay in Singapore for two days after arrive from Taiwan, then go to Indonesia, then go back to Singapore again, and back to Taiwan after that. Seems complicated but we can get cheaper price for that.

So, be wise to choose airplane. :)

Find THINGS To DO for SCHEDULE

Even you know what you wanna do, it's not easy to make a planning. Sometimes, people only focus on the "main" things to do in the destination. For example, in Singapore maybe people only think about "I wanna go to Universal Studio and Singapore Zoo" but actually Singapore has more than that. Don't waste your time while you don't know what to do there.

My suggestion is Make a Travel Schedule in each of your destination for each day, including time. You can use free apps about travel planning or make one by yourself using many templates from Office Words (if you use office 2010 above).

You can try to find things to do first. My suggestion is find in YouTube. Because it can give you more preview about your destination rather than see on picture. Sometimes, pictures can lie.You also can find travel review from people around the world from websites like tripadvisor.com or lonelyplanet.com 

Don't forget to find cheap tickets, if you wanna go to museums or parks, in their websites. Sometimes they will have Package which is cheaper ticket for 2 places. In my experience, if you want cheaper ticket price you can find several promo in specific dates in that places' website. But, you can also find the  cheaper one than that, in coupon's website like groupon.com , livingsocial.com , or ensogo.com . If you are lucky, you can find the most cheapest tickets around the world. 

Travel means not only go to "luxury" places but also experience the culture, right? I suggest you to go to many areas in your destinations which have good review to go. For example in Singapore you can go to Little India, Arab Street, China town, etc. 

Another considerations to think about are the opening and closing time of the place you want to visit, transportation to go there, and the most important thing especially for woman that the places are not in the "red" area.

For Muslim traveler, don't forget to find Masjid there.  Not only because you can pray there, but also you can find that Masjid in each country have different architecture that you can see its beauty. And sometimes, near Masjid, there are may stall that sell Halal Food.

Not only try to find Masjid and Halal Food but also try to find the Prayer Times. I think many websites can provide prayer time for muslim around the world. You can easily find it in Google.

Find HOTEL

Try to find hotel that near your travel places destination. Because you don't want to walk around to far way right? Maybe you can find a hotel that not really far from stations or bus terminals. But, if you go to Singapore, I think no need to worry about hotel place because this country is kinda small.

If you want cheap hotel, you can find in Booking.com or AirBnB.com which is in my experience, the best place to find cheap hotel. I wanna remind you that not all hotel can have "Pay Later" option. You have to carefully look at the hotel description and review. Pay Later means when you book, you will not going to pay at that time. But you can pay when you arrive at the hotel. Using those websites also can help you compare many hotels in your destination,

Don't forget to read the review!! It;s important!!

Don't you ever get an hotel in "red" area which means when night comes many prostitutes around. 

PACK your THINGS

After you know what you wanna do in your destination, of course you know what you wanna bring, right? But in case you forgot, I will give you some tips. I always forgot little things but important.

Important things to bring of course clothes, but what other things?

DOCUMENTS (passport, ID, cash), Shoes, Flip flops, underwear, hijab, pins, toiletries, laundry bags, make up, electronic things (smartphones, laptop, charger, etc.), swimsuit (if needed), etc.

My suggestion, print out your travel checklist and while you pack your bag, check on your list. You actually can find printable travel checklist in many blogs or pinterest. Maybe later I will post about my own travel checklist.:)

That's all my tips for you who want to travel abroad. In other post about travel tips, I can show you how to pack my travel things. 

Hope you will have a nice tips and trick to plan your trip. ^^

If you have anything to ask, please comment below. I will be happy to help you. :)

[2Days1Book][BookReview] - Wreck This Journal

Another book by Keri Smith entitled Wreck This Journal that I love the most. It's because I can do everything in this book. Pouring coffee, wreck the paper, coloring, until split the book. Seems crazy but it works out to increase my creativity.

When I tried to search other people's works on their Wreck This Journal, I found out that I'm nothing. Other people hve more creativity than me to change the "blank" journal into colorful but creative journal. You can see in these pictures below.

Inside, not like those picture. The original pages are white blank. Only with instruction in black ink. We just have to follow the instruction. And it's FUN!!!!

Maybe sometimes, I will post all of my Wreck This Journal pages in this blog. ^^

My Apps for Productivity

This two months I eventually tried many kind of apps for my daily routine, Especially apps that not only can be used in smartphone or tablet, but also laptop or PC. I found many kinds of apps from Google Play (I use Android btw), but I believe these apps that I want to give it to you for  a try are also in Apple Store.

So, basically I try to use these apps for more than 1 month every day and now I already used to them.

ToDoist
This is an app for your to dos every day. Actually I also use my planner for listing my To Dos but it's for reminder. But this app is more than that. I can put as many To Dos as possible and can plan recurring work for every week or every month. Therefore, I'm not going to lost my schedule. You can  use this app in ToDoist website and they will sync with app in your gadgets.
The website is : en.todoist.com

Evernote
As we know, many apps for notes. Even our gadgets have built-in notes inside. But, then I found this Evernote app. My husband told me about this app and I found it very useful for me to type any notes everywhere. In this app, I can make notebook which is place to save many notes. This notebook also can be shared to friends if needed, also can have a chat together by the way. It's fun to do. Not only that, but evernote can also save website you want to read later, called Evernote Web Clipper. You can install it in your browser and just click it when you want to save webpage and read later. In the notes, you can save not only words but also pictures. Very useful and of course can be installed in many places which are not only in gadgets or website usage, but also in laptop or PC.
The download link is : https://evernote.com/

Goodreads
Maybe some of you already familiar with Goodreads, especially bookworm like me. haha This app can save many books, any ind of books, as long as they have the book information in their database, and I believe their database is incredibly big enough to store many books' information. I can save my owned books, to-read books, and currently-reading books. I also can set yearly goal of my reading (I have 100 books to read in this year, pretty crazy). Not only that, I can see my friends' book list and maybe try to find the book in the bookstore. The app is not really good for gadget, but you can use it if you want. My preference is open via Goodread's website in https://www.goodreads.com/

Dropbox and Google Drive
These clod services are the best that I could find. Dropbox can save many files in one place which can sync with my gadgets. I can share my files in dropbox with my friends but we can't edit the file in a time. Therefore, I also use Google Drive to store "project" kinda files that need to make together with friends. Because I use tablet, it makes me easier to work with files editing. Even in the bus I can finish my works and don't need to bring my laptop everywhere.
Find the cloud services in dropbox.com or drive.google.com

Booking.com
For people like me and my husband who like to travel a lot, this website is a good place to find from cheap until expensive hotels. If you want cheaper, you can use Airbnb which is for backpackers. But, if you're not backpacking style person, you can use Booking.com. You can find many hotels that have "Pay Later" option which is not pay when book, but pay when arrive. But, be careful when choosing hotels. You can check the review from people who visit. Even the rating is not really bad, but sometimes the review can make you think harder. My experience, I found a hotel that not really bad and cheap but then some reviews said that it's in the "red" area which means many girls outside when night arrive. -__-" So be careful.
The website is : booking.com

Johnson & Johnson 7 Minute Workout
Yes you didn't read it wrong. It's Johnson&Johnson. The baby's powder brand!! haha But they provide this app that already reviewed by PC Magazine as one of the Top 10 Best Productivity Apps. When I tried it, I just like "waow I want more" :p Basically this app help us to work out at least 7 minutes a day, with guidance of course. We can set work-out level by ourselves so that the app will adjust by our needs. The workout also quite simple but really can make sweating (not a lot but enough). It's very good for people like me who is very lazy to work-out. haha
You can try by downloading it in  : https://7minuteworkout.jnj.com/

Okay...that's my suggestions of apps you can use for your daily routine.
Hope it can help you be productive in your daily life.

Jazakallahu Khairan Katsiran.

[2Days1Book][Book Review] - Everything is Connected

Everything is connected. This sentence is true for today's world. Internet, yes, of course!! Internet makes all impossible connection become possible. But then, internet makes our social perspective become narrow. Everything seems simple and our world is in our PC, laptop, or smartphones.

This book, I found it in Periplus, one of the bookstore in Indonesia that sold many import books, in english of course.

At first I thought that this book is just like "other" psychology things books. But, when I opened it, I realized it's different.

Inside, you can find all POSTCARDS.

Yes, POSTCARDS.

Keri Smith creatively make a book made of postcards that can be used by users to become creative and think out of the box. This picture below is the example.

To use those postcards, all we have to do is "FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTION"

Then, let the destiny of your postcard fly. hahaha

I really like this postcards book. I suddenly buy many stamps in post office and start to send one postcard a day. ^^

Sometimes, the receiver is myself. But, sometimes, stranger.

Yeah. everything is connected, just like Keri Smith says.

Sunnah Fasting 2015

Kemarin aku dapat kalender puasa sunnah di tahun 2015 dari sahabatku. Setelah aku lihat, ternyata banyak sekali puasa sunnah di tiap tahun, aku nya saja yang malas dan tahunya hanya puasa Senin Kamis dan puasa Ramadhan. -___-"

Aku salut sama yang bikin kalender. Niatnya bagus banget karena mau membantu orang lain untuk ingat puasa sunnah. :) Semoga diberikan pahala yang luar biasa oleh Allah...

Oke, so karena penasaran dengan segala penanggalan di kalender ini, aku mencari sumbernya dan dapat di website ini : http://www.pustakasekolah.com/jadwal-puasa-sunnah-2012.html

Jadi...inti yang aku dapat adalah ada banyak jenis puasa. Diantaranya..

Puasa Senin Kamis

Mungkin hampir semua Muslim tahu tentang puasa sunnah yang paling sering dilakukan adalah puasa senin kamis. 

Puasa Ayyamul Bidh

Tiap pertengahan bulan Hijriyah di-sunnah-kan untuk melakukan puasa. Biasanya dilakukan selama 3 hari yaitu pada tanggal 13,14,15. Jika bertepatan dengan hari Tasyrik atau bulan Ramadhan, maka diperkenankan untuk tidak berpuasa.

Puasa Ramadhan

Kalau yang ini sudah tahu semua dan jelas bahwa kita sebagai umat Muslim diwajibkan untuk berpuasa sebulan penuh selama bulan Ramadhan.

Puasa Arafah

Dilakukan pada bulan Dzulhijjah, tepatnya pada tanggal 9 Dzulhijjah.

Setelah tanggal ini, akan ada Hari Tasyrik atau hari yang diharamkan untuk berpuasa yaitu pada tanggal 10,11,12 Dzulhijjah

Puasa Asyura dan Puasa Tasu'a

Dilaksanakan pada bulan Muharram tepatnya tanggal 9 dan 10 Muharram. Bisa juga tanggal 10 dan 11 Muharram. Pilih salah satu. Tidak boleh hanya tanggal 10 Muharram saja.

Puasa sebagian di bulan Syaban

Puasanya sebagian saja, tidak perlu penuh.

Puasa 6 hari berturut di Bulan Syawal

Di bulan ini di-sunnah-kan untuk melakukan puasa 6 hari berturut-turut. Tanggal nya boleh terserah tergantung kemampuan.

Puasa Daud

Mungkin ini puasa yang paling jarang dilakukan. Puasanya adalah berselang-seling kecuali hari yang diharamkan berpuasa dan diwajibkan berpuasa. Sehari puasa Sehari tidak puasa.

Puasa 1/3 Bulan Dzulhijjah

Hanya di bulan Dzulhijjah saja kita di-sunnah-kan untuk berpuasa sepertga bulan. Jadi kalo sebulan 30 hari, dibagi 3 jadi cuma 10 hari puasanya.

Itu dia banyak jenis puasa yang bisa kita lakukan sebagai umat Muslim.

Semoga bermanfaat dan puasanya tawadu'

Jazakallahu Khairan Katsiran

How to be Still Productive when there's Too Much Distraction

Productive means discipline to do everything needs to do in everyday life. But, sometimes distractions can make people "lazy" to do the "list". That's what happened with me these days.

I got too many things to do, and I aware of that. Research paper, final paper for classes, presentation, organizations things (I have two now), household, my start-up business with my friends, travel planning, blogs, reading challenge with my best friend, etc.

But then I have one single thing that become Major Distraction.

My Gadget.

It's one single thing that cause many little things.

Social medias, emails, games, etc.

When I start to touch my gadget which is tablet (more powerful than my phone and it's like my laptop.. I can even do my works on this thing), I can't stop.

Even when I was going to check my email, I will open my facebook, instagram, line, or anykind of it and spend many more times there. Suddenly, my works not done. =.="

My reading challenge... the thing that I love, reading, sometimes get distracted too...

So, in here I wanna give a tips on how to make distraction (especially gadgets) cannot distract you to o your todo list.

1. Say Ta'awudz and Basmalah
As a Muslim, it's better for us to pray first before to do many things, including works. When we say ta'awudz, it means that we seek help from Allah to prevent any wrong distractions from shaitan. And when we say basmalah, it can help us to stay focus on what we did. Maybe in some case, we can be distracted in the middle of our works, but then say ta'awudz and basmalah again. InsyaAllah we can focus again on our works till done for that day.

2. Silent your gadget
In my experience, when my gadget or phone start to make a sound, I will directly put my hands on it. The next time I knew, I will open my facebook again. -__-" So, I decided to do my husband's advice, to  change the sound in my gadget to silent, or if you want to make your phone still ring, you can make your gadgets idle when the screen is lock. It's very useful and sometimes I forgot where my gadget is. hahaha

3. Install your chat apps in PC
I know that most people need to be in front of their laptop to do their works. So, if you don't want any distraction in your gadget, just install your chat apps in your PC or laptop, like Line or Google Talk or maybe Facebook Messenger.

4. Put your gadgets away from you
Maybe you can ask your family member to bring your gadget somewhere you can't find if needed. It works for me when I need to really really focus on my works.

5. Stay focus
It's kinda classic but you need focus. Focus on what're you goals for today. Tried to make your brain always say "I have works to do and do it now!!"

6. Write your to do lists
It can help you focus. If you are a "not-writing" type person, you can use many apps that you can find for PC. I use Todoist by the way. It is a website app that can sync with your gadget. You can make list of your todos or projects that need to be done everyday. I also use my planner because if I goes offline I still can notice what I'm suppose to do for today.

Okay that's my tips and suggestions for you.
Hope these can help us to stay focus and can't be distracted from any internet things.
If you have any suggestions, don't forget to comment.

Jazakallahu Khairan Katsiran.

"Nak, ibu kangen"

Dua tahun aku di Taiwan...mungkin hanya sekali dua kali ibuku mengatakan kangen. Itupun di awal ketika aku baru datang ke Taiwan hampir 2,5 tahun yang lalu.

Tapi...dalam jangka 4 bulan ini aku di Taiwan lagi setelah aku pulang september tahun lalu, hampir tiap minggu ibuku bilang "nak, ibu kangen..."

Saat aku bertanya... "kenapa bu? Koq sering kangen? Ga kayak dulu..."

Ibuku menjawab "nggak tau, Nak. Sejak kamu menikah, ibu jadi sering kangen"

Setelah kupikir...aku juga lebih sering kangen orang tua ku ketika aku masih single daripada ketika sudah berubah statusnya. Tapi, bukan karena suamiku tidak baik. Dia sangat baik dan perhatian. Hanya saja...ada rasa tersendiri yang membuatku seperti sudah bukan tanggung jawab orang tua ku lagi, tapi suamiku.

Aku tidak berpisah dengan orang tua ku, tapi ada rasa yang aneh ketika aku sudah tidak tinggal bersama orang tua ku lagi.

Dulu ketika masih single... Hidup bersama orang tua dan jarang berpisah itu hal lumrah tapi ketika sudah tidak tinggal bersama sebagai istri orang, menjadi hal yang tidak lumrah lagi.

Ibuku mengatakan...

Namanya orang tua, mau anaknya sejauh apa dan bagaimanapun ya tetep kangen dan sayang.

Rasanya....terharu dan merasa bersalah. Seperti belum memberikan yang terbaik ke orang tua.

Kangen bapak ibu dan adek adek di rumah...

Perubahan tidak hanya ke ibu saja tapi juga ke bapak dan adekku yang besar.

Tiba-tiba jadi sering telpon bapak. Padahal seumur hidup aku telpon bapak mungkin setahun bisa cuma sekali atau dua kali. Yang sering ke ibu. Tapi sekarang, telpon ibu ya telpon bapak juga.

Adikku yang palong besar bahkan blak blak an bilang kangen untuk pertama kalinya selama dia hidup 20 tahun. Hahaha wajar karena selama ini kami sering bertengkar... :p

Hmm... Perubahan dalam hidup yaitu menjadi istri orang menjadikan perasaan semua orang di rumah menjadi berbeda.

Rasa sayang yang dulu tidak diungkapkan, kini semakin sering diungkapkan dengan langsung.

I love my family...love my mom, dad, sisters, and brother...
Even I already married, I'm still part of our family.
I also always love and miss you all... :*

[#2Days1Book][Book Review] - Catatan Sang Insinyur

Muhammad Adil, seorang penulis tapi juga seorang teman bagiku. Seorang yang unik dan baik hati. Banyak hal yang bisa kukatakan tentang seorang Adil. Tapi, tidak. Kali ini aku tidak akan membahas tentang "personality" seorang Adil tetapi tentang karya nya. Karya pertama yaitu Catatan Sang Insinyut.

Bagi banyak orang, Insinyur adalah gelar seseorang yang lulus dari jurusan teknik. Gelar ini digunakan belasan tahun yang lalu (mungkin). Sekarang, gelar itu berubah menjadi Sarjana Teknik. Banyak hal yang tidak diketahui orang bahkan misinterpretasi dari apa yang sebenarnya dilakukan ataupun yang terjadi.

Buku ini merangkum secara baik segala hal yang berhubungan dengan insinyur baik ketika sedang dalam proses masa studi maupun usai. Dan yang lebih penting lagi... apa saja isinya?

Ada 4 bagian di dalam buku ini yaitu Fenomena Teknik, Humor dan Inspirasi, Gombalan ala Insinyur, dan Kata-Kata Bijak.

Fenomena Teknik menggambarkan tentang bagaimana banyak kejadian atau bisa dikatakan fenomena yang kadang berbeda dengan apa yang dipikirkan orang lain. Bagian ini membuat pembaca mengerti istilah-istilah teknik dalam kehidupan sehari-hari ynang salah interpretasi. Misalnya perbedaan antara motor dan generator.

Humor dan Inspirasi. Aku suka bagian ini karena Adil menjelaskan tentang berbagai inspirasi dalam dunia teknik secara humoris. Kadang disambungkan pula dengan bagaimana menarik hati seorang wanita. Interesting.

Gombalan ala Insinyur berbentuk komik. Mungkin bagi para penggila 9Gag akan mengerti maksudku. Aku membantu sedikit dalam pembuatannya. Cukup menarik karena kami harus berpikir kreatif bagaimana mengubah script menjadi gambar. Akhirnya penulis memutuskan untuk menggandeng dua orang kawan baik kami sebagai artis dadakan, Yulianti Asalui dan Eka Adi Prasetyo. Sesi foto juga dibantu oleh suamiku tercinta. Script yang lucu membuat kami tertawa terbahak-bahak ketika mencoba membuat dua artis dadakan memperagakan sesuatu. Tapi, hasilnya worthed.

Bagian yang menarik adalah ketika Adil, sang penulis, memasukkan kata-kata bijak dosen-dosen nya yang sangat menginspirasi. Contohnya adalah bagaimana seorang mahasiswa seharusnya berperilaku.

Karya ini adalah karya pertama nya dan semoga akan muncul karya berikutnya.

Pada akhirnya muncul sebuah pertanyaan... "Intan, kapan kau akan menghasilka karya?"

Jawabanku... "InsyaAllah, semoga... :) "

[#2Days1Book][Book Review] - Khadijah

Khadijah, nama itu selalu ada di benakku sejak aku mempelajari sejarah Islam di bangku SD. Istri pertama Rasulullah yang memiliki jarak umur yang berbeda. Khadijah lebih tua dari umur Rasulullah Muhammad serta janda pula.

Pertanyaanku kala itu, pertanyaan anak kecil yang sampai beranjak dewasa tak pernah menemukan jawabannya, hingga novel karya Sibel Eraslan ini kubaca.

"Kenapa Allah memberikan seorang wanita yang lebih tua umurnya daripada Rasulullah? Padahal Rasulullah Muhammad kan seorang Rasul terakhir yang seharusnya istrinya cantik dan muda seperti nabi lain."

Mungkin karena aku tinggal di Indonesia, lebih tepatnya Pulau Jawa dimana budaya itu sangat mengikat serta pikiran "pasangan wanita lebih tua" itu adalah suatu hal yang tabu sehingga membuatku bertanya-tanya. Bahkan bisa jadi guru agama ku tak bisa menjawabnya.

Buku ini mengisahkan tentang kehidupan Bunda Khadijah, salah seorang wanita penghuni surga. Istri Rasulullah yang cantik, baik hati, dan kuat. Rasulullah adalah kekasih Allah yag tidak mungkin dititipkan kepada seorang wanita yang salah. Wanita itu harus berjiwa kuat, lemah lembut, baik hati dan tutur katanya, serta semua hal yang dibutuhkan oleh Rasulullah Muhammad. Wanita ini dididik oleh Allah melalui keluarga dan semua ujian yang ada. Sehingga membuatnya mampu ketika menjadi selimut Rasulullah.

Khadijah menjadikan ku yakin bahwa seorang istri adalah seorang yang harus selalu menghormati dan mempercayai suami apapun yang terjadi.

Khadijah adalah wanita pertama yang masuk Islam. Beliau tanpa mempertanyakan langsung segera mempercayai Rasulullah dan bersedia masuk Islam serta mendukung apapun yang terjadi pada Rasulullah.

Khadijah seorang wanita saudagar kaya raya yang bersedia menginfaqkan seluruh harta nya demi orang yang membutuhkan, baik sesudah maupun sebelum masuk Islam. Setelah Islam ada, hartanya dihabiskan untuk berdakwah di jalan Allah dan mendukung dakwah Rasulullah.

Khadijah melahirkan putra putri hebat. Didikannya sebagai ibu yang tangguh lagi baik hatinya serta didikan langsung Rasulullah menjadikan putra putri nya baik kandung maupun angkat sebagai pemimpin di masanya.

Buku ini menjelaskan tentang sejarah namun bukan buku sejarah. Menjelaskan secara apik dalam bentuk novel siapakah Bunda Khadijah dan orang di balik seorang Rasulullah Muhammad SAW.

Banyak hal yang bisa didapatkan, dipahami, direnungi, dan diteladani dari apa yang menjadi sifat Bunda Khadijah. Salah satu wanita penghuni surga.

[#2Days1Book][Book Review] - Rambut Annisa

Annisa... seorang model iklan sampo dengan bayaran milyaran rupiah karena rambut indahnya pergi dari riuh nya dunia infotainmen Indonesia ke sebuah negeri yang bahkan ia tak pernah memimpikannya. Mimpinya adalah Prancis, untuk kuliah permodelan. Karena kesalahan yang ia lakukan sendiri, terjerumus ke dalam pergaulan bebas dan tertangkap basah di dalam sebuah kamar hotel bersama sekumpulan temannya yang pecandu, ia ditawari pergi oleh produsernya, Raj Singh, ke Istanbul, Turki.

Seorang artis ibu kota dengan bayaran mlyaran rupiah ini hilang dari dunia infotainmen Indonesia setahun lamanya demi menempuh sekolah bahasa Turki sebelum melanjutkan ke jenjang perkuliahan yang sesungguhnya. Namun, apa yang dia pikirkan tentang Turki berbeda dengan kenyataan.

Dibantu dengan sahabat- sahabat barunya, Ameesha yang merupakan cucu Raj Singh dan seorang India tulen yang bersekolah Teknik Informatika di Turki layaknya orang India lain yang terkenal akan kelihaiannya dalam "dunia" komputer, dan Nuray yang merupakan sahabat Raj, istri seorang diplomat terkenal Turki, dan designer baju muslimah, Annisa berjalan mengarungi hidup barunya di negeri orang.

Video wasiat peninggalan Sang Ibu sebelum berangkat ke Turki membuat hidupnya semakin tak menentu, ditambah dengan segala mimpi yang sama dan berulang terus menerus dalam waktu yang lama membuatnya semakin khawatir dan tertekan. "Kesalahan yang sama" dan "Kapan kamu berjilbab, Sayang?", dua kata yang disebutkan dalam video wasiat Sang Ibu mnghantui dirinya selama di Turki.

Kesalahan apa? Mengapa jilbab?

Beruntung Nuray mengajaknya ikut serta dalam berbagai peragaan busana muslim dan mempertemukannya dengan Anne, seorang wanita tua kurator museum Haghia Sophia yang terkenal itu dna juga ibu mertua Nuray. Tanpa kalimat menggurui, Anne mengutarakan berbagai hal tentang sejarah jilbab.

Jilbab adalah sebuah penutup kepala bagi perempuan yang telah ada bahkan sebelum Islam datang. Cleopatra menggunakan penutup kepala yang disebut headress pada masanya, dalam kitab Taurat disebutkan bahwa perempuan Yahudi juga diperkenankan menggunakan penutup kepala, dan bahkan Bunda Maria atau Siti Maryam atau ibunda Yesus Kristus atau Nabi Isa a.s menggunakan tutup kepala yang sampai saat ini masih digunakan dan diaplikasian oleh para biarawati di seluruh gereja di dunia. Tidak hanya penutup kepala namun mereka juga menggunakan busana yang longgar.

Sebelum Islam datang, perempuan yang menggunakan penutup kepala adalah perempuan yang memiliki derajat sosial tinggi dibandingkan perempuan lain di seluruh negeri, dimana sebelum Islam datang perempuan banyak yang dijadikan pemuas hawa nafsu laki-laki maupun budak dan mereka tidak menutup kepala serta anggota tubuh mereka.

Setelah Islam datang, jilbab merupakan penyempurnaan dari apa yang telah dilakukan pada masa sebelumnya. Semua wanita derajatnya adalah sama sehingga mereka pantas menggunakan jilbab. Perbudakan juga dilarang sehingga wanita pada masa Islam, peninggian derajat adalah suatu hal yang penting dengan cara menggunakan jilbab.

Namun, apa yang terjadi pada zaman sekarang sungguh terbalik. Banyak negara terutama yang menggunakan sistem sekulerisme memiliki undang-undang yang melarang seorang wanita menggunakan penutup kepala, terutama niqab dan burka. Contohnya adalah Prancis, Jerman, dan bahkan Turki, sebuah negara sekuler dengan mayoritas penduduk nya muslim namun melarang penggunaan jilbab di seluruh instansi pemerintah bahkan sekolah.

Jilbab dipandang sebagai pembatas ruang gerak bagi para wanita dan melanggar hak asasi manusia. Padahal menggunakan jilbab adalah suatu hal yang tidak hanya kewajiban bagi para muslimah namun juga pilihan hidup, hak seorang muslimah dalam melakukan apa yang dia inginkan. Bukankah jika undang-undang itu melihat bahwa jilbab melanggar hak asasi manusia adalah suatu hal yang salah alamat?

Memang tidak bisa dipungkiri bahwa penggunaan niqab atau burka banyak pro dan kontra, dikarenakan banyak orang yang memanfaatkan tertutupnya anggota tubuh ini sebagai "kedok" dalam melakukan berbagai tindak kejahatan. Sehingga banyak undang-undang di berbagai negara yang mewajibkan semua wanita untuk memperlihatkan wajah nya.

Jilbab adalah pelindung bagi kaum perempuan seperti yang telah dijanjikan Allah SWT. Tak heran, tingkat kejahatan pada kaum wanita di berbagai negara yang mayoritas penduduknya muslim dan tidak ada batasan maupun larangan dalam menggunakan jilbab sangatlah rendah, berbanding terbalik dengan negara-negara yang menerapkan undang-undang tersebut.

Annisa menyadari betul dengan tidak berjilbab di Turki, keselamatannya di ujung tanduk ketika dia pulang dan pergi sendirian di malam hari tanpa teman. Walaupun dia berusaha menutup tubuhnya dengan pakaian, jeans ketat dan kaos. Tetap, laki-laki akan mengganggu seorang wanita yang tidak memiliki perlindungan. Jilbab adalah perlindungan utama.

Namun menggunakan jilbab adalah sebuah hal yang tidak main-main. Diperlukan sebuah kekuatan lahir dan batin untuk tidak akan melepas jilbab nya apapun yang terjadi.

Bagaimana dengan rambutnya yang mahal itu? Bagaimana kontrak kerjanya dengan produk sampo remaja itu? Bagaimana dengan kehidupannya sebagai artis? Bagaimana dengan ayah dan adiknya dalam menerima perubahan dalam hidupnya?

Buku ini menggambarkan dengan baik konflik batin seorang Annisa. Seorang perempuan yang memiliki rambut mahal namun tertekan oleh wasiat sang ibu yang menyuruhnya berjilbab, kontrak kerja, dan kehidupannya sebagai artis.

Hal yang sangat kuingat dan membekas adalah ketika Anne berkata ke Annisa...

"Jilbab bukan sekadar busana bagimu, ia adalah simbol kesantunan sekaligus rasa aman bagi kaum perempuan"

Rasanya kalimat ini sungguh menohok diriku yang teringat ketika masih masa "ababil" nya remaja, aku telah berjilbab namun hanya ketika sekolah. Ketika di luar aku akan melepas jilbab ku. Hal ini berlangsung hingga bangku kuliah semester 5.

Masih ingat rasanya ketika aku melepas jilbab ku, setan merenggut diriku. Aku terjerumus dalam pergaulan yang "kurang" benar, walaupun aku tidak pernah punya teman yang memakai narkoba atau miras. Namun, tetap saja, di kota sekecil Gresik dan kota yang agak lebih besar Surabaya, apa yang aku lakukan mungkin tidak bisa diterima.

Keluar hingga larut malam, walaupun hanya jalan-jalan ke mall ataupun nongkrong di kafe dan minum kopi, kebut-kebutan motor, ke luar kota tidak ijin orang tua, dan lain sebagainya... Hidup "mewah" dan "hedonisme" itu mengurungku... Tak hanya itu, pandangan dan godaan para laki-laki iseng serasa duri tajam yang menusuk.

Namun, jika aku menggunakan jilbab ku saat di sekolah... aku masih ingat rasa aman itu. Rasa aman yang membuatku menolak diajak nongkrong malam-malam bersama kawan-kawan ku. Serta tak pernah ada pandangan menggoda laki-laki nakal lagi kepadaku.

Beruntunglah diriku, Alhamdullah... masa-masa "ingin tahu" ala remaja itu sudah usai. Orang tua yang begitu pengertian dengan memberiku nasihat yang luar biasa membuatku sadar apa yang aku lakukan salah. Bahkan ayahku sempat berkata sesuatu sehingga membuatku menangis dan bertobat untuk tidak akan pernah melepas jilbab ku lagi...

"Pakai jilbab aja masih sering buka copot... lepas aja sekalian...hatinya dulu dikerudungi...baru kepalanya..."

Mungkin benar, hati yang dikerudungi terlebih dulu. Namun, kapan aku akan merasa bahwa hatiku sudah berkerudung? Mengeruungi hati butuh proses. Bahkan ibuku berkata bahwa mengerudungi hati itu dilakukan seumur hidup.

Kalimat ayahku adalah sindiran paling tajam dalam hidupku dan akan kukenang selamanya...

Jadi, jika kau seorang muslimah, Kapan kau berjilbab, Saudariku?

#TwoDaysOneBook : 2015 Reading Challenge!!

I got this idea when I think about my 2015 resolutions. In that post, I wrote that I will read at least 4 books a week, it means 1 book for two days... I also join in GoodReads 2015 Reading Challenge that I will read 100 books in 2015.

My best friend, Nila, who is a "kutu buku" or "bookworm" also asked me to do a challenge between us, but more than 4. 5!!! for a week!!! (even I'm the one who suggest that number)

Looks so many to me... =.="

But I will do it because I believe I can do it!!

Why not for new knowledge, right? ^^

So, if you want to join... let's reading together and put your review of your reading log on your blog so that everybody can learn something from your read.

Spread knowledge is part of dakwah, isn't it? :)

Happy Reading!!!

2015 Resolutions

Sometimes I confused...what's differences between 2015 Resolutions and Dreams... because I always keep in my mind that my possible to-do dreams in this year have to be accomplished. haha But then... I realized those two are different... So, I decided to make my own 2015 resolutions which is also maybe several are already included in my 100 dreams. ^^

I like to read... a lot of books... many kind of books. But I realized last year (2014) I didn't really have much time to read... =.=" So I decided that this year I have to READ A LOT. And my resolutions about reading are :

• Read minimum 10 pages of Qur'an each day including the translation
• 4 Books a Week
• 6 Journal Papers a Week

Too much? No I think not... If I want to have more knowledge, I have to read. And after read it, I will post it in my blogs. So, everybody who read my blog also can learn something form what I read.

I also like to travel a lot...
But sometimes money is the real problem. hahaha

This year... I want to make me and my husband resolution which is ....

Travel to 5 Cities in Taiwan

But, not cities that we've ever experienced...maybe other cities like Kaohsiung, Taichung, etc.

That's inside Taiwan... but we also want to travel to another country... and we decided to

Travel to Singapore

Not only wander around but want to experience the life in Singapore. :)

About my research and study... I have to make one resolution at least... So that I can move forward to another new research. hahaha My resolution about my research is

Publish my paper to Computer and Education Journal

Maybe some of you who have experience in publishing journal may think I'm crazy to put the journal name there.. because all researcher now that publishing a journal need a lot of time, efforts, and sometimes rejected..

But I believe if I do hard work means Ikhtiar and Tawakal, I can do that. Nothing impossible in this life as long as we do the best as we can do and let the result in Allah.

In this year, I want to Start a Business... not a big enterprise. It can be categorized as Home Business. Actually it already started the planning things since the end of last year but not yet realized due lack of several things and need more "heating" up. So, I hope this year we can make it happen. 

Those are my resolutions for this year. Hope I can really make it come true... :)

Bismillah... Hope Allah always beside me whatever happened in this year... ^^

謝謝 (Thank You) in The Morning

Thank You or Terima Kasih or 謝謝

This words rarely I heard when I'm not in Taiwan... I don't know why. Seems strange to me who live in a country which Islam as a majority religion, Indonesia. Because I remember since I was in elementary school, our teacher always teach us to say thank you to another people.

Even when I went to another countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, I also rarely heard this words.

Maybe you can heard those words most all the time are in the supermarket when you pay your groceries. Or to your loved ones.

But in Taiwan, everywhere I go, I always heard 謝謝 mentioned by strange people.

I learn a lot about how to say 謝謝 in Taiwan is not only when you meet your friends or family... but also strangers where ever and when ever and what ever the situation is... Taiwanese said thank you or 謝謝 because they feel grateful about something that other people did to them and they believe saying 謝謝 can make people happy.

The first time I felt it strange when I was in elevator.

In Taiwan, we have to queue before enter and someone who get in first, has to be near the elevator buttons. So that he/she can push the "open" elevator door button until everybody get in and push it again if someone want to get out before him/her in any floors. Very thoughtful right?
Then, because of his/her action who helped other people get in / get out the elevator easily without hesitated to be wedged by elevator's door, everybody will say 謝謝 or Thank You to the person in charge. Sometimes, the person will say You're Welcome or 別客氣

Another time when I was in the bus...

If we want to get to the bus, we have to pay some amount of money using cash or yoyo card. And the place is near the driver. I heard word 謝謝 from almost every people who get out the bus after pay their bill. They say 謝謝 to the bus driver because he helped passenger to go to the destination safely. And the bus driver will say 別客氣

The most extraordinary thing I've ever experienced is today when I just arrived at school...

In Taiwan, people walked in right lane and people who walk have number one priority rather than bike, scooter, car, etc. So, when I just entered the school, I walked in the left lane (my mistake because not really used by that regulation even already in Taiwan for more than 2 years). Then, suddenly I saw behind me there was a girl ride her bike slowly...right behind me. She couldn't be in the right lane because too many people there and no one in the left lane except me. But even she knew I was wrong, She didn't ring her bike's bell. When I moved to the right lane, she could pass me and other people and said slowly just right beside me "謝謝 " and it makes me stunned.... then smile.

It's a simple words to say but many people don't realize how important it is to another people, even you don't know that person.

Say thank you about simple things... for example...

Thank you for giving me place to walk
Thank you for driving the bus safely
Thank you for open the elevator
Thank you for help me process my groceries in supermarket
Thank you for prepare my lunch in cafetaria

Sometime... thank you will make another people's day brighter.
Thank you can make people smile

This words are the representation of grateful about everything we have... grateful to another people's help...

But then... do we realize who gave all those things? Allah.

So... did you already say Thank You to Allah for today ?

Allah...
Thank you for giving us a chance to live one more day
Thank you for giving us water for take a bath and drink
Thank you for giving us food to eat
Thank you for giving us transportation so we can go to school and work
Thank you for giving us loved ones so we can be loved and love
Thank you for giving us teacher so we can learn many thing
Thank you for giving us sun so every human, animals, and plants can live
Thank you for everything....

Alhamdulillahirabbilalamin...