interestingly, things just seem to be in sync....
- when i glanced at the time, it was 1.23am
- my inbox has 555 messages
- the inbox windows shows 5 messages from 2 senders, 1-2-1-2-1
- got a reply from someone i wasn't expecting would reply, about...
- something i didn't expect was true [but all in my favor, thank goodness..]
hmmm...what next?
-moenlite-
[looking for peace in her piece of mind...]
how my life will look like in the following weeks...
- 28 sept: class presentation for crisis mgt
- 30 sept: submisison of final draft for thesis (should have been this monday)
[ramadhan starts]
- 26 oct : thesis oral presentation (as in 'the' oral presentation)
[idul fitri]
- 18 nov : final exam for health policy and mgt
- 25 nov : final exam for public finance
- 29 nov : final exam for quantitative analysis + deadline for crisis mgt paper
- 4 dec : valedictory dinner
............
then.....
back to reality. :)
-moenlite-
[all prayers are welcome, btw :)]
[just realized i started this blog when i was starting my courses...and now its almost finished...Gosh, doesn't time fly when you're having fun...*did i just say fun...???:P*]
UPDATE:
- is now promising herself that she will never procastinate work again....but only after she gets a really long break once this thesis is submitted.... ;)
in the spirit of sharing...
after spending like hell on phone bills here (not the first time actually...did much worse in switzerland..:P) i finally found an IDD calling card that works wonders. trully.
i got like amazing minutes for calling jakarta (best for landlines) and even more really amazing minutes calling the US (yes, now I'm certain that Spore and the States have a close trading link...and i think my cousin is now sick and tired of me not wanting to hang up even though we've been talking for hours ;) hehehe).
so, bagi kamu-kamu (serasa penyiar radio :P) yang tinggal di Spore and have been spending billions and zillions of your allowance/salary/sabetan tetap :P on phone bills overseas (esp. yg suka nelpon ke jakarta dan US)...coba..coba....tanya saya....kartunya apaan (nanti kalo 'tak taro disini...si kartu itu musti kasih royalty kayaknya :P hehehe). lagian gampang sekali didapat (hampir semua toko2 yg deket MRT kayaknya ada deh), tapi tampaknya gak banyak yg tau. sayang banget kan...
Tapi....if it creates an 'income effect' on you...meaning you end up spending more lantaran you think 'you're paying low' ..ya jangan salahin saya loh ya ;) hehehe
-moenlite-
*picture
I wish you were here to guide me
To sister me
To be with me
To tell me all the secrets of life
All the truth and lies everyone else knows but me
All those that no one tells...
unless you've shared history,
exposed moles,
yet never worry that the love will ever recede...
In life you might be blessed to have the all so many people around you
To have the all so lovely smiles greeting you
Laughing with you
Serenading at the same melody with you
But when that music button stops and moves to a different tune,
And suddenly you hear that awful sound...
Those left behind are those you know...
You’ve won a space in their heart
No matter what
And I know I've won your's Kak, as you've won mine...
-moenlite-
[to a special lady who shall always be my Kakak]
*picture:
Sisterly Love, M.A Boysen
[shades]
She takes her footsteps into the street named life
...and it was called living
She would stop at different passage ways leading to different paths
...and it was called deciding
She would meet so many different people and share a bit or two of what she knew or had been through to those that would listen
...and is considered befriending
She would meet someone, trust this person and choose to walk alongside him, sharing
...and that is called mating
And yet the path still goes on and on and on....
It’s not likely that she ends up where she started or even where she had intended to go....
What's important is whether she is content when she reaches the end of her walk.....through destiny.
.....
I don’t know how far I’ve gone, and how many people I’ve met; but I know I’m enjoying my stroll....a bit slow but steady
-moenlite-
*picture:
A walk in the clouds, Armond Scavo
[shades]
We had a very interesting seminar yesterday.
The World Bank launched its annual 'World Development Report', presenting the theme on ‘Equity and Development’.
The two main authors came to present the Report at our school. Afterwards, there was a ‘case study presentation’ of the same topic, focusing on Vietnam. My professor (who is also my thesis supervisor) was the one presenting. Turns out, his parents were in town visiting and got a chance to attend his talk. What impressed me was that he introduced them in the beginning of his talk and telling us how happy he was to have them there. I think that was very sweet and nice of him. They seemed really proud and happy :)
After the talks, I got a chance to have lunch with the authors and my (other) professor, along with some other students, from the junior class. It was a very nice and fruitful lunch I must say.
My friend Rani also attended the seminar, and brought her 6 month old son-Noe-along. He has actually attended several seminars before, so Rani seems to have mastered the ‘skills’ of bringing a baby to seminars. She would sometimes stand near the exit so that if he makes some noise, she can attend to him quickly without disrupting the seminar.
I was quite impressed. What impressed me more was that Noe was actually very very quite during these talks.
I know I wouldn’t dare bring my niece or nephews like that (especially at Noe’s age), as they’d be ‘presenting’ their own ‘speeches’ during these occasions :) Yes, I love them very much, and yes I’ve taken them places, but a seminar room would be the last place on my mind to take them hehehehe (I know my niece Reina will be reading this with a smile. Hi dear! Miss you and Zaky so much :)
I know I rarely put up day-to-day pictures in this blog, but this time I just couldn’t help it. So do look into this set of pictures if you’re interested to see how it went (it was during the Vietnam seminar, and the café on campus we went to after the talk).
But my favorite picture is the one in Rani’s photo album. I think the scene says it all ;)
Okay, now I’m off to write my thesis.
Cheers!
-moenlite-
*picture
i've been thinking a lot lately.
and have finally come to the conclusion that,
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
i've been thinking too much.
-moenlite-
[time to act and see where my path ends up...]
*picture:
City Hall
I lost my birthday this year
I lost it to a lesson, a greater lesson than all those I thought I had covered.
That in life one must think and rethink, calculate and recalculate....yet in certain aspects, to stop calculating and take charge.
My mistake was human, I calculated in areas I shouldn’t have and not recalculate in areas that needed it.
Another lesson I learnt was that one must not yet feel content of what one has achieved, and that life is a never ending learning field. When you stop learning, you stop living. And for me, it seemed as if it had started a bit too early.
But then again, I guess that’s the birthday gift I gave to myself this year.
Yes, it took me sometime to understand, but hey, what’s a lesson without some contemplation involved... :)
I guess I didn’t lose it after all, I guess it just reshaped itself into something different, something much more mature than I could have understood. Then but not now.
Now I’m all grown up. I’m 27 ;)
Cheers to all young hearts out there,
Lets keep on learning, and living.
-moenlite-
090978~090905
*picture: sunrise
terpikir sejak sehari kemarin, apa arti dari hari ini.
tahun berganti diri masih begini
apakah ada hikmah yang terkaji
termenung sehari tapi terlupa begitu fajar esok meninggi
apa perlu diraya yang begini ini
satu tahun terlewat seakan berhenti
namun yg tak disadari
adalah arti yang terkandung dan yang musti dijunjung
adanya ditengah-tengah antara hari ini dan yang nanti
selamat untuk diri,
semoga mampu mencerna pesan-pesan yang selama ini
-moenlite-
[makasih untuk ucapan teman-teman dan juga kamu]
[shades]
Came back from a (not too) short trip back home, to attend my brother’s wedding (I have three of them, so this was the last one...fiuh...).
The wedding and all the reception and ceremonies went along beautifully.
Got a chance to meet up with the many relatives, tasted all the different types of food that weddings usually make available ;), and spent some very good quality time with my family, (yes, him included ;)
And the two weeks passed so fast...
Am now caught up (again) with the many readings, assignments and deadlines.
Experienced a pretty interesting trip on my return here to Singapore.
Instead of flying back to Singapore straight from the capital city, I went through Batam instead, to catch a ferry to Singapore. I used the same route travelling home to Jakarta for this trip.
Well, it is a policy that Indonesians are to pay an exit tax (yes, an EXIT tax) when we leave the country, unless, your ID was issued from particular provinces (that allow their citizens to waive the tax).
Now the tax through Batam is half the fee in Jakarta (yes, this is an official rate). And apparently it is very common that in the airports people are approached by ‘middle-men’ (we call them ‘calo’) who offer their ‘services’ so that you don’t have to pay the full rate (this is available both in Jakarta and Batam airports).
Though I've heard stories, I’ve never experienced this my self in Jakarta; but in Batam this seems to be even more common. I didn’t realize how common it was until I tried to pay the (official) tax there. As I was approaching the tax booth, I was a bit surprised that the officer wasn’t very enthusiastic to process my passport. (I had actually declined one ‘calo’ when I was walking up to the counter), I even had to ask this officer to take the passport, which then was told that I’m supposed to photocopy my passport first, and this photocopy place apparently is placed under the staircase, some meters away from the Tax Counter.
Go figure, you have all these ‘calo’s swarming around, looking for people to ‘help’, and a counter actually providing all the ‘pre-conditions’ required. I wonder what 'policy' the government was actually trying to implement there...
Turns out, these calos were pretty desperate since not everyone crossing over needed to pay the tax (most likely only non-Sumatran citizens, sucj as those from Java, Bali and other islands). Even when you check in to get to the ferry, the booth for ‘fiscal/tax check’ looked hidden and a bit abandoned (atleast in Jakarta everyone flying out of the country needs to go through this booth before boarding).
It was as if you needed a really huge sense of ‘tax-paying motivation’ to go through the whole process...hmmm very interesting.
So its no surprise that these 'non-taxed' provinces all of a sudden have a rise in population (some people would even have double IDs for these provinces), and that this 'calo' practice becomes a pretty lucrative business....
I personally do not agree with the whole 'exit tax policy'...as it seems absurd and and more of a preemptive measure from keeping less-rich citizens to go abroad (as the the tax is on an a fixed amount figure; sometimes even the same price as airline tickets to neighboring ASEAN countries) than an income generating post for the government. Plus the fact that most of this 'tax revenue' gets lost through the process anyways (either by the use of 'calo's or the possible corruption that hinder the system to profit from the policy). Frankly I think this policy serves as 'bad publicity' of government intention to 'support' its people.
There have been talks about abolishing it, but no firm action/decision has even been taken.
Anyways....
Arrived in Singapore safe and sound (nearly sea-sick from the ferry though :P), around 7pm. Had roasted chicken rice in Harbour Front...which I thought was a very nice ‘welcoming meal’ (especially knowing I'd have a hard time getting dinner if I didn't have it there), then headed home, knowing the ‘real world’ was waiting to greet me.
Well, a small note in a blog seemed like a good way to end the night, as tomorrow I have a morning class.
It’s definitely good to be back,... ;)
-moenlite-
*picture:
Going home, [moenlite]
