Project 365

Welcome! This is my own 365 project of creating at least one post per day about the stuff that I learnt, achieved, and found, the stuff that made me happy, or the new thing I did every single day.

The project was started on 21 February 2010. It has stopped for few times but I am determined to continue!

This project is dedicated to myself. I want to feel grateful for every single thing I have. I want to be thankful for my own life. I just want to feel that I have enough.

Tag: diary

The Champion!

PPI Eindhoven is the champion for Eindhoven League 2011!!! Wohoooooo 🙂 So happy!!! It was indeed a tough tournament especially with PPI Arnhem and Rotterdam 🙂

On another note, I’m happy that the event has concluded. Although there were some glitches prior to the D-day, I have to say that it went so successfully for two days. The committee, especially those who were responsible during the matches (not me of course), did a great job!!! We were on time most of the time; very rare for an Indonesian event hahaha. WELL DONE!

Ya Allah… I hope papa is in a much better place now… 🙁

Not a goodbye, but a union…

Look at love
how it tangles
with the one fallen in love

Look at spirit
how it fuses with earth
giving it new life

Why are you so busy
with this or that or good or bad
Pay attention to how things blend

Why talk about all
the known and the unknown
See how the unknown merges into the known

Why think separately
of this life and the next
when one is born from the last

Look at your heart and tongue
one feels but deaf and dumb
the other speaks in words and signs

Look at water and fire
earth and wind
enemies and friends all at once

The wolf and the lamb
the lion and the deer
far away yet together

Look at the unity of this
spring and winter
manifested in the equinox

You too must mingle my friends
since the earth and the sky
are mingled just for you and me

Be like sugarcane
sweet yet silent
Don’t get mixed up with bitter words

My beloved grows
right out of my own heart
How much more union can there be?

— Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Innalillahi wa innailaihi rojiun.

I was very shocked to find out that my uncle (I usually call him papa) has passed away today. I still can’t believe that it happened to him. He had an accident on his journey to Madinah. The bus driver suffered from sleep deprivation and hit a truck. Everyone, except him, was fine and only suffered from minor injuries. It was as if Allah SWT deliberately wanted to take him away…

His death is a great loss to our extended family. We can no longer hear his laugh that can be heard all over the house. His "goooooooollllll" scream when he watches a football match. His encouraging words. His jokes…. Oh, I feel like it was only yesterday that we had this interesting discussion about politics in Egypt. I still can’t believe this.

I’m greatly worried about my aunt and my four cousins, especially the two youngest ones. Ya Allah, give them the strength and the patience to go through this difficult time…

A Rose Made My Day

IMG_8092

A beautiful red rose :). I can’t remember when was the last time I got a rose haha…

Well… not only the rose that made my day, of course.

I met many new people during an international dinner today. It was such a great evening. It always felt good to be in your comfort zone. And yes, I realized that this was my comfort zone. I always enjoy to be around with people who are interested in different cultures, who have been abroad for quite some time (hence, they know the kinds of things we’ve been through as a foreigner), who do not judge others based on their appearance, and so on…

Easter Road Trip 2011

I just got back from my road trip!


View Larger Map

Switzerland was breathtaking! The Alps and the lake were just so beautiful and refreshing. This was the country I had been longing to go since I was a kid and I was so glad I did it!

But New Zealand was still the best in terms of nature. Nothing can beat that beautiful country 🙂

Ya Allah…

At this moment in time, I am in a desperate need of miracle…

Intro to…

I’ve been busy preparing for tomorrow’s gathering! So excited about it 🙂

Here’s the hint:

Short Introduction To Indonesia

A Sweet Reminder

As I organized my inbox today, I found an email sent to me a year ago which read:

Keep on smiling for the rest of your live [sic]

I am and I will!

🙂

One Step Up

Alhamdulillah, I’ve passed a small milestone. I’ve created a project description for the thesis and thankfully my professor liked it! He signed some documents to be passed to the education administrator, in which a green light to start the thesis project will be given.

Even though it’s a small milestone, I’m so happy. That means my thesis will definitely start soon and I have no reason to postpone it again. The project will officially be started in February and will hopefully be finished by the end of August *fingers crossed*. At least, that’s what I wrote in the document 😀

Ya Allah, please guide me through this difficult journey. I need Your support.

High School Diary

Yes, I used to write a diary when I was in High School. It was started at the end of May 2002, when I entered the last year of my High School. I have long kept my diary in my bookcase in Jeddah and it was a loooooong time ago that I read it. So I decided to take it with me to Holland hoping that in my spare time I could perhaps read it for fun :D.

And I actually did! It was really weird reading back my own diary, to be honest. It was embarassing in some ways (waaaaay too childish LOL). I kinda skipped some parts of the stories, refusing to remember them. The diary is no more than my day-to-day life: the pleasure and hardship living at a boarding school, my relationship with other friends, and teenage love slash crush. It was quite memorable! I couldn’t believe that I didn’t remember a lot of things that were written there!

For example, I used to have a lot of nicknames. I did remember most of them, like MuLong (Muka Lonjong or oval face), onta (camel — and I assume you know where that one came from!), Mellie (inspired by Melly Goeslaw; I actually forgot why my friends related me to this famous singer), and Jomel (I forgot why I was called with this name, but I hated it hahaha). But I didn’t remember at all that I was called ‘Truly Asia’ before, just because I had a stupid crush on someone who lived in KL! Hahaha. I wonder where he is now actually! LOL. (Hello, You! Haha)

The diary also reminds me with a lot of things: my cat & dog and brother & sister relationship with (apparently) one of my closest friends, Anas; my habit of sleeping in the class (sorry, Pak Uya!); my first time receiving an appreciation in a form of a chocolate from my favorite teacher :); my habit of sneaking into my room to eat chocolate every evening alone :P; and the obstacles after graduating from school. Being done with school and not living in a dorm anymore was probably the hardest one for me. I was used to the non-stop routines and activities from 8am to 9pm, so I couldn’t stand doing nothing at home, waiting for the university to start. I was also used to having my friends around, 24/7. They were within easy reach when I needed somebody to talk with. But suddenly, everyone went their separate ways and I found myself alone in my room. Farewell was indeed the hardest thing, especially when we spent time together for 3 years! We knew each other so well, even in the worst possible state! We were like a little family, even until today.

The most boring part of the diary is about the hurdle of breaking up (talk about teenage love, huh?!). I just realized that it took him almost 6 months to finally let me go. It’s boring because it’s too repetitive. And it caused my relationship with one of my closest friends to worsen. She remains one of my good friends these days and whenever we talk about it, we laugh and laugh, thinking how stupid we were back in the old days! 🙂

I actually enjoyed flipping through the pages of my diary without reading them. I was surprised that I was quite creative back then! Every pages were made with different styles, colors, and design. I was so devoted to it and I managed to write the diary until I reached the last paper, which was more than a year! That was hard and that was the only diary I had! 😀 (because afterwards, I turned to blogging).