Three Times a Programme

Well, seems that I've been rely on an unreliable source. Indeed, the third joint programme has been initiated after all. I've got to watch less infotainment next time :) Let's just hope that this will be a better one, a much better one for the sake of the participants. And the first batch has given the deadline, on February 28th 2010. We've got our spell now, it's time to work our a** off if we still want to get that degree.

Joint the Programme!

Finally, the nail has been hit into Joint Programme's Coffin. The third batch of Joint Programme has been officially aborted. The link and page for Joint Programme has been missing from MST website. So much for billions of Rupiahs have been spent. Not one side in this program is completely satisfied. The commissioners, stakeholders, participants (especially), and supporting sides is somewhat dissatisfied with the outcomes. When 11 of 20 participants are finally graduated by the end of this month, the big question is still hanging, what the hell are we gonna do with them. They are (mostly) some of the best graduates from UGM and ITB for the past five years, and yet this state has nothing to offer. So, who's to blame when we look at the remaining nine, one is disappeared (literally), four are more concerned about getting a job, two are more concerned about their family, and the rest are history? Well, don't get me started about the second batch, the one who 70% of them are failed in one particular course known as economic investment analysis!

Food Poisoning(?)

I'm not really sure what happened, suddenly I feel pain all over my stomach, and I threw up, from all outlets. I drained out, dehydrated, losing so much fluid. Well, talk about eat the wrong food. All I can remember that I have just enjoyed a nice lunch with some pasta I bought from the store nearby. I put it in the microwave for about 10 minutes and actually, it was quite enjoyable, my first proper meal here cooked (or at least, prepared) by me. The pasta was called penne, with chicken, mushroom, paprika, and cheese sauce. Now I feel like a cloth after washing, ready to hang to dry.

Sleepless in Karlsruhe

Coming to Germany in summer has a big advantage, especially for tropical citizen like me. The weather is similar to my hometown, which only knows two seasons: summer and rainy. Summer in Germany, or in Europe, get the two seasons combined. Temperature is around 28 degrees, quite comfortable for us getting used to temperature above 30 degrees. While people here longing for the sunshine, we from tropical country have got enough for it back home. Also, it makes the best environment for holiday and sightseeing. People don't hesitate to go out and walk in the sun. But there is also drawbacks. The biggest one is the time. In summer, the sun sets at 10.00 pm and rise at 03.00 am. Consequently, the prayer time is also adjusted accordingly. The day is longer, so the Duhr is now at 1.30 pm, Asr at 5.30 pm. That is OK, but when we see that Magrib is 09.30 pm, Isha at 11.40 pm, and Fajr (Subuh) is at 03.15 am, well how many hours can we sleep? Counting up the number, and you got three. Yes, three hours of sleep. And facing the fasting month coming up, if we must prepare for sahur before Fajr, then we get no hours left for sleep! Yes, we're gonna be sleepless in Karlsruhe soon.

To Germany...at Last

Well, when you watch Slumdog Millionaire, you'll be convinced that sometimes your destiny is written, and no matter how hard it is, you should achieved it if you tried. But even sometimes you can wait until destiny comes to you. The biggest hurdle to get me to Germany is getting an invitation letter, since the institution would not help at all. But, that all changes in a blink of an eye when my friend managed to get that letter without much of my intervention. In less than a week the letters have arrived, and my world is turning upside down. All plans just came one after another, getting visa and the documents prerequisites, and confirm the arrival at Germany with our friends already there. All has been set for departure at July 1st at 00.30. The visas are done in June 29th, and the tickets are already paid for flying to Frankfurt through Dubai. The flight was long, approximately 19 hours counted from Western Indonesia Time, plus one more hour by train from Frankfurt to Karlsruhe. And the rest is history...

Back to the Corner

I'm out of passion, even for surviving this so-called joint program. Time is running out, alol my friends are progressing, leaving me behind on the platform. Well, it's time for natural selection. My kind of species is destined to extinct, back in the 20th century. I can't seem to think in the same language again. Once again, I'm caught in this devil's circle, never seem to know the edge. This past six months have sent me back to the corner, just watching as the world goes by. Have I taken the wrong choice to be here, try to fool myself in the academic world while my mind is always in the practical world, the real world. Is it time to retreat and surrender, like I used to? Why the hell am I hiding my complaint here, in a foreign language, so that no one really cares about? Who am I kidding?

The Warnetman Strikes Back

It's been a while since my warnet days back in 1999 until 2001. As consumer, I use warnet regularly until graduating from UGM in 2004. After that, I access internet either from home or office. When I get back to campus to take my postgraduate study, the hotspot is already all around. Even at home, I can access our neighbor campus' hotspot occasionally. Until the other day, my brother's friend asked me to set up his new warnet (internet cafe) at his home. I never set up an internet cafe router (gateway) before, so it's a surprise that the work can be done in just under ten minutes using IP Forward and IP Tables. Next is setting firewall, and until now I still cannot manage to do it properly, at least for HTTPS exception. The bandwidth management came next, easily done using HTB. This week, I will do proxy using squid.

The King of Upstairs

These weeks have been such a lonely one. My older brother left for Riau yesterday for two weeks. My sister-in-law and my one-week-old-yet-unnamed niece came home for about one week now. My parents is downstairs, our maid does not stay inhouse. That leaves me alone for weekdays (my younger brother only visits every weekend), to be the king of upstairs. It also bounds me to stay put, because my father is extremely ill and cannot be left alone. Maybe that what keeps me away from the world, from my study, and my dream of going abroad. I have to stay home, at least for a while.

When All Is Said and Done...

First, they promised all of us full scholarship to study in three universities in three cities, one of them is abroad. Suddenly, only a fraction of us who can go abroad, but they still promised the rest would go abroad too, but not to study. Then, they hold out our scholarship for the rest of us. Now, we are not guaranteed to go abroad at all, because we must find the way ourselves (like we ever go before). Not enough of it, they say if we don't (or won't) go abroad, we must pay our scholarship back. Do we ever speak the same language all this time?

All I Need Is a Miracle...

Just to finish this goddamn programme! We are urged to graduate in May, which means we get only three months left. At the same time, we supposed to find our way to German, by ourselves! Well, our headmaster must be out of his mind. If they can't get us through, how can they depend on us instead? Not to mention the financial is getting tighter, there's no guarantee we can collect our last paychecks, after they cut the periods by two months. Are we supposed to feel lucky here?