Cinta adalah Kita

Kata orang, cinta itu antar dua manusia.
Kata orang, cinta itu buta.

Tapi, kataku cinta adalah kita.
Tidak harus antar dua orang yang saling mencinta.
Tapi, satu kesatuan hati untuk mencinta sesuatu.

Cinta tidak buta, tapi melihat dan mendengar.
Melihat dengan mata terbuka lebar dan telinga yang siap untuk mendengar.

Kadang, ku tak habis pikir dengan cinta kita kepadanya
Cinta yang tak mengenal lelah saat bersamanya.
Walau terkadang "lelah" itu kita ungkapkan dengan canda, tawa, ataupun amarah.

Kadang, ku tak habis pikir dengan cinta kepadanya
Cinta yang tak mengenal putus asa saat ia bersama masalah.
Walau terkadang "putus asa" itu diwarnai tangis kebahagiaan tak kasat mata.

Kadang, ku tak habis pikir dengan cintamu kepada ku.
Seorang yang bukan apa apa.
Kenal pun baru saja.
Namun, kau berikan cintamu kepadaku tanpa syarat. Selayaknya keluarga.

Kadang, ku tak habis pikir dengan hinaan yang terus mendera.
Hinaan berurai canda tawa yang tak pernah dianggap serius.
Walau kadang hinaan itu menelan korban.

Kita memiliki cinta yang sama.
Cinta yang tulus yang tak bisa diungkapkan dengan kata.
Cinta kepada sesuatu yang tak kasat mata.
Cinta akan sesuatu yang bisa membuat orang lain lebih baik.

Kita memiliki ketulusan yang sama.
Tulus untuk membantu
Tulus untuk bekerja
Tulus untuk berirama

Terima kasih kawan atas segalanya
Segala senyuman
Segala tawa
Segala tangis
Segala hinaan
Segala candaan
Segala pengertian
Segala semangat

Terima kasih
Karena mu ku belajar untuk sabar dan menerima
Karena mu ku belajar mencinta
Karena mu ku belajar bertanggungjawab
Karena mu ku ada.

Teruntuk keluarga ku
Bapel Universitas Terbuka Taiwan,
Kalian bukan kawan
Kalian bukan teman
Kalian bukan lawan
Kalian bukan sahabat
Kalian adalah keluarga
Kalian adalah cinta

Hei Again, Blog! Time Management is hard...

It has been six months since the last time I wrote a blog post. A lot of things happen, especially in how life goes by. Sounds cheesy but it's true. haha

I've been work on some projects, classes, research, organization stuff, and any other important things that make my life super busy in these six months. Even when I write this now, I tried very hard to have time to write even one post. I still have a lot of things need to be handled after I write this blog post.

But when I think about what topic I should choose for today, I do not have any idea. I just couldn't think of one. But then, I got an email from one of my blog readers, she asked me about how life's going, how's my study, and how I manage my time well in my busy life. That's when I realize I have to write about this. Time Management.
Honestly, it's hard to explain how I manage my time because it's all about learned from mistakes. For instance, I learned that I can't say "yes" to everything that my friends asked me to do because it will make my day a lot busier than ever. From mistakes, I can give some suggestions for everybody who needs my help to manage their time.

1. Plan Your Day Every Morning

If you are one of my blog readers, you already knew that I love planners. I always bring my planner everywhere I go and always write everything that I have to do in the day or following days. You don't have to have a good, bling, or colorful planners to plan your day. You just need a notebook (small one) that you can carry wherever you go and fill with your To Do List.

Start with answering this question, "What are the most important things to do today?"

For example, your answers are "Go to classes,  Meet with Emma, and Do homework."

Then, you just have to make the details of those answers, like "Go to Statistic class at 9.15 am in A Building" or "Meet with Emma at 12.30 in Starbucks, have lunch together, bring our project paper."

So, why you have to do this every morning?

Well... as my experience told me, in the morning (after Shubuh prayer usually) is the best time to make use of your brain and start planning your day. Your mind is fresh, and your body is fresh too, after got a nice fresh morning air and water. You can do this after Fajr prayer like I said before if you are Muslim, and if not, you can try to wake up around 5 am in the morning. After a nice bath and refreshing a cup of water, you can start to plan your day before do your daily routine.

Todo List by : LivreTheBooks on Etsy

2. Bring your Planner Everywhere

Like I said, a planner is essential when it's small enough to be placed in your bag. You will need this all the time if you want to have a better time management.

Let's say... you meet a friend for dinner. Then, suddenly he/she said that there's a great gag night that they want to attend with you next Saturday. When you have your planner, you can quickly put the schedule on so that you will not going to forget what will you do on next Saturday. And also, if you already have a plan in that night, you can also directly tell your friend that you can't go and maybe change the date.

Another example, in class, when the teacher told you about homework that has a different deadline than it used to be. For instance, the teacher usually asked everybody to hand in the homework on D-1. But then, suddenly the teacher told you to hand-in on D-3. You absolutely don't want to miss the deadline, right? The planner is the solution.

3. Say "No" if You Already Booked

Sometimes, saying "No" to your friend, teacher, family, or anyone that needs your help to do something is hard. I understand it very much because that's what happen to me a year ago. But then, I realized, if I always say "yes" when still have a lot of things to be handled, I will be messed up.

Start to say something like "Hey I'd like to help but sorry on that day I have other things to do and I'm afraid I can't help you."

I believe they will understand and will not going to push you to do whatever they want you to do. If they still insist, you can show them your planner.

4. Use Productivity App

If you think planner is for a girly girl, you can choose a productivity app instead of a paper planner. There are a lot of app that you can find on Google Play or App Store. You just to find the best one for you. Build-in app also good, because usually they already provided you with a lot of functionality for planning your day.

5. Be Consistent

You already have your planner or app, you already said "No" when you can't do something, then the most important thing is "Be Consistent"

You have stick on your schedule on the day. If you can't do it, promise that you will do it in the first place in the following morning. It will be useless if you have planner but you don't stick to it, isn't it?


I think that's all I can share wit you today. I hope that I can post some new stuff next week. I will try my best to keep posting about life and productivity as a Muslim, an international student, a wife, and a traveller.

Please have comments below about your thoughts in productive life. :)

Flying Cow Ranch, Miaoli, Taiwan

Don't expect there are some flying cow there. I even only find sleeping regular cows outside my sight. haha This place is not like what I imagine about ranch. I've never go to a ranch in Indonesia and this was my first time went to a ranch. But, it's a good place to educate children about animals and ranch life.

Flying Cow Ranch is located in Miaoli County. There is no public transportation available to go there. But, you can go to Miaoli Station using TRA / HSR then continue to use bus / taxi. In Flying Cow Ranch website, they provide you with transportation information, such as :

By Train
Take Taiwan Railway (Sea Line) to Tongxiao Train Station, then take local bus or taxi to the ranch. It takes 15 minutes by taxi and they charge you around NT$ 250 - 300.

By Bus
Out of the Tongxiao Train Station, go straight to the junction of He-Ping Road. Take local bus (Fu-Xing Line or Tai - Kang - Wei Line) and get off at Chi-Shia Stop, the take a walk for 2km to the ranch. The bus ticket is around NT$ 35

By Car
(Please use Google Map) hahaha

When you arrive in the ranch, you need to pay for ticket entrance in the gate. NT$ 220 per person. Please check on their website for updated information about the ticket price. This price is for entrance only. If you want to do some activities like DIY projects, eat in restaurants, and others, you have to pay separately. But, it includes 1 bottle of milk for free.

In there, you can see many animals in the ranch. It's quite big so be prepare to have many walks. haha The animals are typical ranch animals, like sheep, goat, cow, horse, duck, rabbit, and butterfly. You can give them animal food with NT$ 10 - 20 in shops near the sheds.

There are many venues for activities (mostly are for kids of course).

DIY House

If you like to make something by your hand, you can go to DIY Houses near car park. There are time schedule for each activity. You can choose the activities by yourself because each has different price. Activities involved are Biscuit making, Butter making, Milk Bread making, Cow Painting, and Ice Cream Making. You can find the time schedule and price in the brochure. However, the brochure is in Chinese. If you want English, no you can't have one. They don't provide it for you, unfortunately. So, better to check on their website first and confirm it with employee in the DIY House.

When I was there, I met with an Indonesian guy and Malaysian girl as employee there. They helped us a lot in DIY projects we involved with, because we can talk in Indonesian or English. So, don't worry. At least somebody can speak English there. hahaha

Souvenir Shops

You can try many kinds of foods made from milk. I suggest you to try Milk Pudding that looks like a ball. It's very delicious and you can choose the flavors. The milk pudding's wrap is actually a balloon and they put pudding inside it. So, you have to blow the balloon with anything sharp like pin or toothpick.

Restaurants

I believe you'll be very hungry because you have to walk for a long journey. They provide you with many kinds of restaurants, from ranch-like restaurant, hot pot, italian, and fast food restaurant. Choose what you like. The price is a little bit expensive, except the fast food restaurant.

Sheep Shed

I actually have already seen sheep before, back in Indonesia, especially when it comes to Eid Fitr and Eid Adha. haha However, maybe kids in Taiwan don't know what sheep and goat's look like. That's why this ranch provide so many sheep in their shed. People can buy the food for just NT$10 - 20 in shop nearby.

Near the shed, you can do many activities, such as feeding the ducks and milking a cow. But make sure you know the time schedule from the brochure or website.

Flower Shop

It's near the sheep shed. I suggest you to buy the ice cream. You can choose either chocolate or vanilla flavor.

Rabbit House

I didn't go here because I'm too tired to walk and we're in the top of the mountain at that time. So, if you wanna go there, better go there before go hike.

Hiking

Because the ranch is actually in the middle of mountain, you can hike there and enjoy beautiful scenery from the top of the mountain. Don't forget to bring some waters with you. If uyou don't bring one, don't worry you can buy waters in vending machines in the location.

Butterfly Garden

You have to go up in the mountain first, along with the hiking track. Many beautiful flowers and butterfly flies around.

My impression about this place is... not really interesting for adult. Maybe because of the activities provided are mostly for kids and not as big as it is. It's big but not big enough for a ranch, just like in a movie. haha If you think you can go there and ride a horse, no you can't. The activities which are involving animals are only feeding them and milking the cow for less than 1 minute.

However, I like the milk pudding so much and I bought several puddings back home hahaha.

Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

After 3 years I've been in Taiwan, just several weeks ago I can go to Taipei 101 Observatory Deck. haha It's kinda weird because it's already 3 years and Taipei 101 is near with my campus. But, at the same time I know why I didn't go there in my 2 years of master degree and the first one year of my PhD. It's because... it's expensive.

You have to pay NT$450 if you show your Taiwan Student ID or International Student ID. And if you're only tourist or employee, you have to pay NT$500. If you have child, I think the price should be NT$450, it's a concession ticket for child, student, elderly, and disable.

It's an expensive ticket for my student pocket, don't you think? haha
But I'm lucky that my husband wants to go there "suddenly" and pay the ticket for me. (Yaaayyy!!)

So, the opening time of Taipei 101 Observatory Deck is at 9am to 10pm, but the ticketing counter will be closed at 9.15pm. My suggestion for you, go there before sunset, maybe around 4 or 5 pm. Because you will get beautiful landscape of Taipei when it's still light, between sunset, and after dark. I believe it's amazing. Because I've been there only at night and I couldn't see the bright landscape when sun still on the top of our head.

The transportation to Taipei 101 is quite easy start this year, because Taipei Government built another MRT line directly to Taipei 101. So, you can easily get there.

You have to aware, that you have to wait for around 15-30 minutes for the elevator. It's the fastest elevator in the world (they say), but they only have 1 elevator for go up and 1 for go down, Bt don't worry, it takes approx less than 1 minute to reach 87th floor (yes you can only go to 87th, not 101th) with the speed of 1010 m / min. Crazy huh?

When I was inside the "capsule" or elevator, I could sense my ear disrupted by the speed. Just like when I'm on airplane. Sudden change in the elevation can make your ears have a bit of discomfort.

Don't throw your ticket away because sometimes (I think seasonal) they will give you some coupons that can be used for shopping on the observatory deck. However, the items are still expensive even we had the coupons already. haha I used my coupon to buy Mango Ice Cream, worth money because it's very delicious. I'm not kidding. It's the best Mango Ice Cream that I've ever taste in my life. haha

Stores inside the observatory deck are a lot, including :

• Mango Ice Cream
• Souvenir shop
• Unique stamp shop
• Taiwan delicacies
• Gold (yes, it's gold) and many other jewelries.

If you buy postcards from the souvenir shop, you can send it to your home. Just buy the stamp in the cashier and they will give you explanation where to put your postcard after you finish write something on it. Basically they will ask you to put it on the big post office box in front of the shop.

While I eat my mango ice cream, I can see beautiful night landscapes from above. The walls are made from glasses. So, you can see 360 degree panorama from above.

 

Taipei Night Landscape from Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

Souvenir Shop on Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

Wind Damper of Taipei 101 (It's HUGE) 

Another Taipei Night Landscape from Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

Ketika 'Journal Paper' Ditolak untuk Pertama Kalinya

Email itu datang di saat yang tidak terduga. Malam hari saat aku sudah siap untuk tidur dan memasang alarm, email itu muncul di notifikasi handphone. Diam. Cuma itu yang bisa aku lakukan.

Sebenarnya, aku sudah paham kalau paper ditolak itu wajar, apalagi jika itu adalah submit pertama kali di jurnal yang sangat bagus pula. Aku sudah mempersiapkan mental untuk ini. Maka dari itu aku hanya diam saja. Tapi setelah itu...

Aku ingat beberapa hal yang sudah kulalui selama 2,5 tahun dalam proses menulis 1 research paper ini yang tidak lebih dari 15 halaman.

Sejak tahun 2012 aku masuk kuliah S2 di Taiwan. Masuk ke dalam lab seorang Prof yang memiliki bidang riset yang berbeda dengan ku karena Prof yang aku target tidak menerima mahasiswa internasional. Aku belajar dari nol tentang semua teori yang tidak pernah aku dapatkan sebelumnya selama aku S1. Aneh memang tapi itu yang terjadi.

Selama semester 1 aku berusaha keras bahkan sampai jarang ada waktu untuk jalan-jalan, tidak seperti teman-teman ku yang lainnya. Apalagi ditambah dengan Prof ku yang super sibuk. Email jarang dibalas. Tidak pernah menanyakan tentang progress riset ku sama sekali. Asisten nya yang disuruh untuk assist aku selama ini.

Setelah masa 2 tahun yang ku lalui dengan penuh keringat dan air mata, aku lulus dan melanjutkan S3. Optimis dengan keputusanku S3 di Taiwan karena aku menikah dengan seorang yang bekerja di Taiwan dan mimpiku untuk menjadi seorang dosen. Professor juga memintaku untuk memasukkan hasil riset ku ke dalam jurnal internasional.

Masalahnya, dia memintaku untuk mengubah model sebelumnya dan aku harus melakukan analisis kembali. Aku melakukan analisis dan memperbaiki paper ku selama kurang lebih 1 tahun sampai akhirnya aku memasukkan paper ini ke sebuah jurnal dengan index yang cukup tinggi. Di saat yang sama, dia menyuruhku untuk menaruh namanya sebagai penulis pertama.

Di dunia akademisi, penulis pertama berarti si pemberi ide, si penulis utama, si periset utama, dan apa apa lainnya yang pertama. Tapi, hal yang terjadi adalah beliau adalah sebagai si pemberi ide dan sang penolak model. Aku mengerti beliau Prof ku dan aku mahasiswa. Beliau adalah seseorang yang punya ilmu lebih dibandingkan aku. Tapi kesibukannya yang sangat padat, susahnya bertemu (tak jarang aku menunggu 3 bulan untuk bertemu dengannya), dan hal lain yang membuat ku ingin menjerit, serasa tidak sebanding dengan apa yang kulakukan selama ini. Mengerjakan sendirian segalanya mulai dari pembuatan model sampai penulisan research paper. Aku merasa, I deserve the first author of this paper.

Sebenarnya aku dibantu oleh asistennya. Asistennya ini yang menurutku memiliki kontribusi lebih dalam mengajariku berbagai hal sebelum hasilnya aku serahkan ke prof. Jadi saat itu aku berpikir mungkin lebih baik jika dia menjadi penulis kedua. Tak disangka, aku harus ikhlas untuk menjadi penulis ketiga. Alasan utama prof ku adalah karena dia yang berkontribusi dalam memberi ide.

Di sini lah kesabaran ku diuji dalam menghadapi prof yang seperti ini.

Di sisi lain, di saat yang sama, aku merasa "down" karena banyak teman ku yang mengatakan "Wah, intan keren yaa bisa S3. Habis ini jadi Doktor, trus jadi Professor."

Alhamdulillah aku diberi kesempatan luar biasa untuk sekolah S3 yang tidak semua orang dapatkan. Tapi orang-orang ini juga harus sadar bahwa S3 itu tidak mudah.

Bayangan orang Indonesia S3 itu pokoknya ngerjakan riset, masukin jurnal, sudah. Paling 3 tahun lulus. Kenyataannya, ya bisa jadi seperti itu. Tapi tidak seperti itu yang saat ini aku dan banyak mahasiswa S3 lainnya alami. Menulis riset itu tidak seperti menulis karya ilmiah untuk lomba tingkat S1. Tidak seperti tesis S2. Berbeda.

Harus melewati beberapa tahapan ilmiah. Setelah tahapan selesai dan paper siap di submit ke jurnal internasional, di situlah titik yang berada di luar kontrol kita sebagai penulis. Ibarat kata seperti anak SMA yang ikut UMPTN. Dia sudah belajar mati-matian selama sekolah lalu ikut tes. Babak penentuan adalah ketika usai tes dimana itu sudah di luar kontrol dia. Ada orang yang pintar luar biasa tapi UMPTN tidak lulus. Itulah yang dinamakan "luck" atau keberuntungan.

Submit paper butuh keberuntungan. Tapi tidak cukup dengan keberuntungan. Harus punya tips dan trik khusus. Inilah yang aku butuhkan. Biasanya mahasiswa S3 akan mengalami proses belajar tips trik ini setelah paper ditolak beberapa kali. hahaha

Kepala dan hati serasa lebih sakit daripada patah hati. It's a real serious problem for PhD student.

Tapi, aku sadar, ada hikmah di balik ini semua..setelah aku bertemu dengan profku yang entah ada angin apa langsung mengajak bertemu setelah 1 hari sebelumnya aku mengirimkan e-mail penolakan paper. Ini di luar kebiasaan. haha

Beliau mengatakan kepadaku kalimat yang terngiang-ngiang di kepalaku sampai saat ini.

"Don't be shocked. It's normal that your paper is rejected because you submit it in the highly prestige journal, which has high standard. You have to know their tricks and you will know after several times rejected by them. Don't panic! Learn and Fix your paper based on what the reviewer said on the rejection e-mail! You will learn more and more. Your english is good but you have to know how to write the paper just like the native speaker write their own paper."

Just like this PhD Comic below. hahahaha



You know what? It's a hard thing to do, Sir!
But I will do it. Aku akan melakukannya sebaik mungkin dan mencoba untuk yang terbaik!

Ini adalah sebuah learning process yang harus dijalani seorang mahasiswa S3 dimanapun dia berada apapun major riset mereka.

Hal lainnya adalah ketika seorang mahasiswa S3 harus me-reset otak mereka untuk berpikir bukan seperti mahasiswa S1 dan S2. Harus berpikir "out of the box" dan sesuatu yang baru. Seperti orang yang setelah putus cinta lalu berusaha bangkit dan mencari orang baru untuk dicintai serta tidak melihat masa lalu. hahaha Itu yang susah. Karena untuk mencari sesuatu yang baru berarti sama dengan harus mengerti semua penelitian di masa lalu dan mencari gap nya untuk diteliti.



For you all PhD students out there... remember that there's reason behind rejection which is Learning Process! We will deserve our graduation time with pride and beautiful knowledge when the time is coming!

For you who don't know what PhD life is, just shut up. Don't brag like you know every single thing, because you don't! ( I'm sorry if I'm too harsh, but I have to say that >.< )

Wanna see some cases how PhD students try to survive? you can check on PhD Comic Websites.