It’s almost halfway through the year, and here I am living a life which I consider to be normal life during this recent period. Life at home with all this comfort and time to spare is okay only for a brief time, but it sort of taking its toll right now. Looking back on the months before I moved back to my home country, my final year of school that is, I made the acquaintance of Associate Professor Richard Brown and research student Jahirul Islam. My friend; Jagad and I worked on the final project related to biofuel properties under their supervision. We had a lot of work to do in only a short amount of time which was surely daunting and at the same time exciting and challenging. At the end, we were able to deliver our final presentation quite well to the audience. Of course I appreciate those moments even greatly today, counting in all the supposedly annoying assignments during uni life, and the 4 months of summer work at oil and gas industry. I somewhat miss the rush feeling of handing in assignments in the last minutes and also the sweat and joy of working in office and field. These days, I apply for jobs online and have to regularly put up with enforced idleness. With any luck, I feel this joblessness coming to an end pretty soon. The thought of writing this was just for the not-so-old times’ sake.

post-final project presentation | 2012

the endless sky

The recent live broadcasting from the International Space Station reminded me about how astonishing to think that just decades ago we, the human kind, had our first steps beyond our home planet. It was as if there were no more problems here on earth. Judging by the way we live generally; racing against time and trying to accomplish something in our lives, there is no question that problems will arise anytime. There are probably many things to feel really good about each day, but who really has the time to admire them? Sometimes spending a few moments looking at the world from above and looking at the sky can improve one’s mood in an instant, and maybe nobody can prove it better than the astronauts in space. With the missions that they carry and very limited entertainment on board the station, they do have something great which is the view of the heavens and earth from up there. A break in one’s life is always necessary, no matter the duration, as long as it makes one to appreciate life better, then it works. I’m grateful that the modern science today allow us to understand much better about our universe and admire them at the same time. Personally, thinking about the vastness of this ever-expanding universe, the world, and everything in it can add a little bit of happiness in the soul.

“Do those who disbelieve ever consider that the heavens and the earth were at first one piece, and then We parted them as separate entities; and that We have made every living thing from water? Will they still not come to believe?” (Quran 21:30)

“And the heavens, We constructed with power and skill and verily We are expanding it." (Quran 51:47)

“O society of jinns and men, cross the bounds of the heavens and the earth if you have the ability, then pass beyond them; but you cannot unless you acquire the law.” (Quran 55:33)

so long astronaut…

"[He was a] reluctant American hero [and had] served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves."  - Armstrong's family

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum | 2001

With the smell of barbeque in the air, I took the shot.

In attempt not to distract those who are fasting, I exclude the juicy beefs and sausages from this post. Brisbane, a barbeque-friendly city which we really take advantage of. Many free barbeque areas can be spotted at parks across the city, an example would be the Kangaroo point. While eating, you can enjoy the view of Brisbane city skyline, watch the rock climbing guys and girls, or.. just cheer up some random passing joggers. The picture below, wouldn’t be possible without my friend showing up with his Nikon coolpix s6000. Yes, it has much better quality results than my camera; Kodak Easyshare V1003, which is responsible for the 99% of the pictures in this blog (as of this moment). Despite not being the owner of the camera, I still have the privilege to publish this picture, since I took the shot.

 

 

Kangaroo Point | 2011

Look up, it’s the…

London eye?
Nope, it’s the wheel of Brisbane, which is located in the Southbank parklands, near the cultural center. This ferris wheel is approximately half the size of the London eye. I heard that it’s not a permanent attraction and according to Wikipedia the wheel will be removed sometime in 2013.. but who knows.. Although I may not ride it due to the expensive price, I still hope that it stays longer, at least until my graduation. The lighting at night makes it stand out, so It is a bit weird to imagine the area being empty.

Queensland’s capital

I owe this blog a few updates and since I can’t really describe how life has been like these past two years, I’ll just throw in several pictures I have on the hard drive. Introducing the early pictures after arrival…..ladies and gentlemen, Brisbane city panoramas.

First picture was taken from the goodwill bridge, which connects Queensland University Of Technology and Southbank parklands. The second picture was from a friend’s apartment in West end and finally the last picture is a view from mount Coot-tha.

This is Scenic Sunday

Update -sort of-

It's been almost 2 years since I've written anything on this blog. The day I made it, I thought I could be consistent on updating its content.. I was wrong. I’ve neglected it long enough, and now, I'm trying to put a few words in it just because it doesn't feel right to leave behind something that I was so passionated about. I came to Australia in 2010, now living and studying in Brisbane; making this my first update since arriving to this neighboring land.

The Sears Tower

Chicago is one of the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited, I really thank the Hall family (Dan Hall, Verdellh, Jacob, and Statia) for bringing me there for the weekend in March 2001. This tower is now called Willis Tower. However at that time its name was still Sears Tower, so I used that name for the title. I was on the other side of the road and was using an analog camera, so I didn’t know how the shot would look like. As you can see, the angle is a bit messy. It was the world’s tallest building until 1998, when Petronas Twin Towers surpassed it.

This is [scenic sunday][skywatch friday]

Karanongko

Again, this is from my old archive. This is how the village of Karanongko looks like in the morning, the village where my father spent his childhood. The empty field is the children’s playground, this is where they all have fun together. We only visit this place once every 2 or 3 years. This village is located in the Klaten Regency, Central Java, Indonesia.

[scenic sunday], [sky watch friday]

The Oil City

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Balikpapan​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ‘the oil city’ is located on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia. It’s my hometown, the city where I spent my time the most, one of the cleanest city in the country and also a peaceful one. This picture w​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​as taken on t​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​op of a hill and we can see the oil refinery located on the shore of Balikpapan Bay. The road down the hill, the refinery, and the sunset, bring me back my memories of childhood, when we rode on the school bus in the evening to get back home. The scenery always makes me smile. I miss this city.. and the childhood moments.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[scenicsunday][mellow yellow monday]

In the garden

Some few shots of flowers around the neighborhood, I’ve no idea what they are called. The purple one was at the field near the tennis court and the rest of the flowers were from my home garden. These are old stock. I was browsing through my old photos, then I decided to post them here. I guess they make my blog ‘greener’.

Today's Flower

Wall of Memory

Let us enter the world of the early days, when we were kids. We used to have so many dreams and our world back then seemed to be unrealistic. I felt that art was so much closer to us than now, I mean.. we drew a lot! Drawing is one of the many languages which children use to ‘talk’ about their world. The first books I ever read as a child were the books about the universe. I loved looking at the pictures of the wide universe... and drawing them, and of course as a child back then, the use of color was often more emotional than logical.

This is Mellow Yellow Monday

Wide awake and frozen

I've heard stories about sleep paralysis long ago. 'Ghost' appearance is a common thing during the paralysis and there's a scientific explanation about it. However I was still really curious about the phenomena. I wondered how people feel during sleep paralysis. Few years later... or a few days ago, my curiosity was solved. It's not like I was wishing to experience sleep paralysis. I never knew what was coming. I was watching T.V. while lying on my bed at night. I didn't intend to sleep, but without realizing, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I  suddenly  saw shadows. I looked at the shadows and they transformed to ghostly looks. Their scary faces approached me until they're right in front of my face. I was in confusion and panic. I don't know whether it was a dream or not, I think I was hallucinating . The environment slowly turning into my own room and I could see ghosts, I tried to kick them but then I realized I couldn't move. The paralysis lasted about 10 seconds. I finally sat down, turned on the lights and felt relieved. From that point I understood that anyone who's struggled through an episode of being wide awake and frozen knows it's not a pretty thing.

have a nice dream

Friday 9 October was supposed to be a good day. If all went right, I would come to a party and leave for Bandung that night so I would enjoy the weekend there. But, let the past be the past. Sunday is almost over, I should close my eyes, concentrate my mind and pray to God..Sleep well and hope I'll have a nice dream..

9-26/11:24

Sudah seminggu dibandung dan sekarang saatnya kembali ke kos. Lebaran tahun ini sama seperti tahun - tahun kemarin. Dihabiskan bersama keluarga besar, tapi sayangnya ga sempet ke boyolali dan solo. Saat ini saya lg di km 51, menuju ke cipaganti lenteng agung. Beginilah kalau sedang ditol. Cuma bisa tidur dan buka blog. Sekalian, saya mau ngucapin minal aidzin wal faidzin, mohon maaf lahir batin. Btw, foto kawan - kawan yang lebaran di Balikpapan bikin iri, hehe. Semoga reunian di waktu lain saya bisa ikut..

emptiness, darkness, that came before dreams

Hello Darkness, it was always late at night, when everything and everyone else was quiet, that those voices would rise like ghosts, soft and haunting, filling your mind until sleep finally came.. In restless dream I walked alone in the narrow streets of cobblestone, Neath the halo of a street lamp. laughter, festivities have ended and I was on my way home. This dream, it’s not just a dream. It is a memory..

Back to the yellow campus

Vacation’s over. I’m gonna see a lot of yellow for the next few months.. because I’m back to the yellow campus. There are 2 main campuses, one is in Jakarta and another in Depok, which is where I study. Overall, Depok City can be called as 'youth district', since the importance of the number of students. Students also enjoy green and fresh-air provided by more than 250 hectares of forest inside UI's campus in Depok.

Enjoy the rest of your summer

It is hard for me to believe that I have only 3 days left in My beloved hometown. I planned to keep playing tennis and badminton everyday until my last day in Balikpapan. But who knows.. Yesterday, I ended up hurting my right arm muscle during a game. Now, It is either I play PC games with friends or watch them play badminton..

Those Marathon Runners…

I’m always amazed at the range of people who cross the finish line at any marathon. But becoming like them, I don’t want that. 40 km is just too much, it’s a torture, I’m sure my body can’t handle it, If you ever have to go that far isn’t that why we invented cars? a 6 km of running is enough.

End of July

Last day of July, Friday the 31st that is. I participated in Minima urban artworks 2.0 which took place in Balikpapan Trade Center. I only knew about the exhibition 3 days before the actual event. So I quickly made this drawing and submitted to the committee. Besides this one, there’s another artwork that I submitted, an old drawing and was already shown in a previous post.

Journey into my mind, the further I have pursued my voyage the more distant they have become. In my mind, I travel toward the unknown.. don’t know where I will be heading. The imagination, I think I need to paint it out. – 08/03/09