Why walking might enhance your life

I started walking around 2 months ago.

At that time, I was engrossed with the idea that I can limit the pollution caused by my motorcycle or other vehicles if I walk to my school. I was intrigued by the idea that I can influence other to reduce travelling by vehicles to reduce the greenhouse gasses and also, to ease the traffics.

To be honest, a heavy traffic in my area influenced me to do so. It is faster to walk than to take public transport or motorcycle. I had switched to bicycle before, but the hurdle to climb up the road is too high for me and I would arrived at home flooded with sweats.

So, I chose walking and choose a narrower pathway which not suitable for a motorcycle to go through.

It requires around 20-30 minutes of walking to reach my school. I think it was quite a long time and if I don't do anything it will go to waste. So, I started listening to music. But then, I switched to TED.com in order to improve my English because at that time I was preparing for my IELTS test.

It was a good experience, I must admit. I can improve my English while burning some fat and improving my fitness. Not to mention, I can improve my knowledge and creativity because TED.com offers various and enchanting topics.

However, it doesn't last long. Why? Because it requires so many energy and concentration. It is actually quite hard to stay focus on the speakers while you are walking in a "dynamic" environment. More cars, steep road, busy people on the road, and more. So, after I took my IELTS test, I became too lazy to start listening to TED again. There are also more projects coming, so I have to switched my attention to these projects and voila, another habit came in.

I started using my walking time to call my parents and my siblings. Sometimes, I used the time to reply to some messages on my social media. However, the same problem always there. The environment is never too calm for me to create comfortable and calm environment to talk to others. Noisy cars, pollution, bad signals, wizzy-wozzy people (you know the old men who like to flirt? It's quite annoying but inescapable).

So, there are actually many options that we can use for multi-tasking while walking.

But then, the stress were coming up. Too tired to talk, too tired to listen to TED, too tired for anything.

So, I just started enjoying every step, every breathing, every sight. I just look at people, smile at anyone (sometimes I even bring myself to greet the annoying old men). It brings a lot of calmness to me and when I arrived at home, my mind became quite clear. And later, I bought a rosary ring and started to chanted the rosary and it serves as a spiritual and meditation time for me.

And after doing this for awhile, I find more improvements in my life.

1. I became fitter. How do I know? I can do leg raises 10 times easily. Before, I can only do 5 at most, before giving up.
   Well, it's not happen as easily as you might thought.
   No.
   While walking, you should hold your stomach and tightening it.
2. I feel more calm after arriving at home and can organize my day easily
3. I can save time for workout (obviously). And burn more fat.
   Actually, you can reduce your weight a pound (0.5 kg) per week by walking at least 15 km or 9 miles per week (or 3 km per day)
4. Improve my knowledge (and English, and in result have a good IELTS listening score) when I listened to TED.
5. Feel closer with myself and God because I use the time to understand and examine my body (I am checking if there is unusual feeling or pain, heavy breathing and so on)

So, why don't you try to walk to your work or school? There are so many benefits to you and others. No more bad traffics, less fat, calmer mind, and more time to yourself. Try to at least use the stairs than elevator.

End of note: Walking is only possible if you have enough time tho. I won't prefer walking to somewhere more than 3 km in my usual day (I will, if it's one of my holiday). So, try to organize your time and always allocate more time. Usually, it takes 12,5 minutes to travel a kilometer distance.

If You don't Plan, You Plan to Fail

It's bugging me so much and I was already regretting it enourmously that I did not plan an event carefully.

Well, planning is one of the most important key to successfully completed a project. Any projects. Financial project, travelling, a simple meeting, and surely, an experiment.

I did an experiment or more while I was a student. It is a requirement to finish an experiment planning before doing the actual experiment, before buying anything or just to gather the apparatus. Even when we (my partner and I) did a research and a planning, there were unexpected changes that did not go well with the plan. That's what happened in experiment or research.

All you have to do is research more on paper and previous experiments to prevent an unpredictable results and prepare more options if one failed.

Although I have experienced these stressful things, for instance, delay on my schedule because of unsuitable analysis method, improper sampling, delay on reports due to lecturer's absence, etc., I did not learn.

And the worst thing is, I messed up in an industrial scale.

It just happened that I didn't really understand about this particular project but the condition did not let me to learn more about it. I just went with the flow and agreed on an experiment plan. And while we were running it, I noticed some disconnected strings and encountered unpredictable factors. The data were insufficient, inconsistent, and there was too many factors that I neglected.

Well, there was also this factor where we could not observe the site and took enough measurement so eventually we could not made proper plan. And there was also the other party mistakes, such as disordered communication, busy environment, and not very caring with the project.

But it hits so much that we could not change what we planned half way. I just fixed it a little bit with my little knowledge and not so good judgement. Not so good, because I could not derive useful enough conclusions from the data.

It's just that, they spent so much money on the experiment. And I really don't like the idea that we could actually ease the spending. Let's say, maybe for more than 40%.

Well, I just have to work it out. Indeed, eventually.

And if I have to give advises to myself in the near future, it's have to be:

1. Plan it. Research everything you can. From the experiment, possible results, even to the other party.
2. Extract information from the other party, the site, the data, and so on.
3. Prepare yourself for unexpected factors.
4. Have a good to-do-list.
5. It's not a waste to make detailed or thorough plan.

Oh, and of course. To my dearest NP personality,

1. Don't procrastinate!!
2. Why?
3. Because you're gonna forget some important information or idea.
4. And it's a big hassle to always remember and arrange everything back in order whenever you open your PC.

Well, to my dear friends out there,

1. Find a good job properly (where you have a fix schedule, LOL)
2. I mean, I chose this job.
3. But it seems that I have not enough self control to always do everything in time.
4. I mean, I am always a deadliner you know. 
5. And surprisingly, it worked well.
6. 😐😑😒
7. In the past. Back when I am still a student and only have responsibility of myself.
8. If you have good self control, do this kind of job. 
9. If you have the same problem with me, then train your brain so that it won't lagging so much when you actually need it. In short, you just have to be brilliant.

And in the end, everything depends on your detailed plan board, the execution of the plan (you should follow your plan of course 😏), and lucks.

Then, see you next time.


Drop me a comment about anything, but I will be glad if you share your POV too.

Between Wages and Experience

I am currently working with my professor as a project assistant.

I chose this job because I want to learn from him and learn how to do a simple and small project. And yes, I did learn many things. In fact, I experienced various stuffs. For instance, travelling, site visiting, meeting with manager and team leaders, chatting with workers, administrations, and more. I also experience fun things such as culinary, real travelling, hotels, and I also have good accommodations.

And if you are asking about the wage, it's not much. I could not afford my current lifestyle without the help of my father. But then, my wage is actually higher than the other project assistants (from another professor). It might be because there are only 2-3 assistants work with my prof. However, the experiences and the lessons are more valuable than the wage.

And I applied to my prof without questioning about the wage. I was fine with any amount. Liar. I was fine if it was at least 2 mil/month. And I actually got more than that. I was so happy when I received my first wage (because it was worth one and a half  month). Then, I also should mentioned that I got per diem for travelling and it was paid daily.


I just really love this occupation. Not to mention the privileges that I got, I learnt many things and feel needed.




Then, 

I joined the Womeng Unilever Leadership Program on last November. It is an amazing and inspiring program about woman engineer. You, my fellow woman engineer (limited to students tho), should join this program. Let me talk about this program in another post.

But here is a pic of mine.

Well, it doesn't look good enough, let me show you another one.

Anyway, I got an opportunities to apply to Unilever Leadership Internships Programme (ULIP).

In fact, I got contacted on earlier this December to work in the planning division. The program will start on next early January and will last for 6 months. I really want this. I want to experience new things and explore what kind of work really suits me. When I did the interview, I asked them about the jobdesk and it intrigues me so much.

If you are asking about the wage, it's not much higher than what I got from my current occupation. And if I do proper calculation, I will earn more money if I stay in Bandung. I've got more sidejobs such as teaching here in Bandung. And the sacrifice I have to make if I were to move from Bandung to BSD is considerable either.

This will be a good article if I ended it with saying "But I still choose ULIP because I want to get out of my comfort zone and learn more things in an extensive company such Unilever".

However, life is not as easy and predictable as we want.

I failed to calculated the working hours that I need to fulfilled to applied to Swedish Institute Scholarship (SISS). I failed to consider the trust that I should have build if I want to ask a reference or recommendation letter from my current prof. I actually failed to tell him that I applied to another job.

So, I have lingering feelings and feel too pressured to move out soon. So, I just emailed the HR team that I could not join the program from early January but February. Well, I am ready to withdraw my application because the mistake was on me.

What do you think?

My Life After Graduation

It's been awhile since the last time I post something here.

Looking back to the statistic, there will be longer span of time before my next post.

I am officially a chemical engineer bachelor on July 2017.

Perhaps, some people would think that an ITB graduate like myself would easily get into a company, a reputable one for sure. However, it's not true for every case. Sometimes, one is not lucky enough when he applied to a job. In other time, it might be an incompatible job/company. In other place, he might encounter a "worse-option-masked-with-promising-lines" and end up with worse result. In any means, it's not a simple process, getting an employment.

In my case, I applied to several "massive" companies who offer management trainee or "skipping-unnecessary-steps programs. It is indeed more competitive, and in some case the recruitment process is quite complicated. I was interested in consultant world too, so I applied to PwC. The results? Either I fail right before interview or after interview.

The first case happened more often.

I told myself that I am not the person the employer look for. It means I am not compatible with the job or with the company. I should move forward and find a more suitable one.

This cycle repeated many times.

I would lying to myself if I said I didn't give up. Because I did, the least, at that time.

I got into a project team from my previous laboratory. And I am glad that the Professor accepted me, because he was actually want to hire a male. Why? Because he needs his assistant to visit the sites, and truthfully I think I am strong enough and I like travelling. The projects are more or less about environmental or water and waste water treatment issues. I liked these topics since before, perhaps since high school. And I grew to like it more and more as I learned more and more about them.

The idea to pursuing master degree came back to my mind. I attended the same guest lecture from Sweden that I attended in previous year and embraced myself to study in that University or the least in Sweden.

So here I am.

A proud project assistant of one of the most wonderful and busiest professor. You can google him, the head of the "Pusat Studi Lingkungan Hidup ITB". A proud chemistry tutor. A proud learner.

Busway oh Busway

Hai guysssss

Yang baca tulisan ini, makasih banget kalau kalian akan lebih memilih busway ketimbang kendaraan pribadi atau gr** c*r atau taksi.

Aku baru 2 minggu lebih tinggal di Jakarta, tepatnya di Tangerang. Atau lebih tepatnya lagi perbatasan Tangerang dan DKI atau kurang lebih 5km dari Terminal Kalideres. Waktu itu aku lagi mau bukber sama temen-temen SMA (Aurora ku tercinta) di Sency (Senayan City). Nah, aku coba lihat harga pake gr** kan... gils 86.000 (yg notabene masih pagi). Terus coba cek go**k 40an rebung juga. Kalo bolak balik kan lebih dri cepek. Duit darimana anak kuliahan begini.... Klo naik gr** gw udah bisa beli satu dress di H&M deh.

Akhirnya w nanya2 ttg busway. Sekalian pengen nyobain gimana sih busway di Jkt. Pengen ngebandingin sama punyanya S'pore.

Well, mendingan cerita prosesnya dari awal sampe akhir aja ya.

Nah, sebenarnya busway punya aplikasi, tapi aplikasinya ga membantu sih. Suka lelet dan gajelas gitu. Mending buka google maps + buka rute busway dari http://transjakarta.co.id/peta-rute/
Nah habis itu tinggal cari halte terdekat deh.

Kalo dari lokasi aku, di PT Multi Bintang Indonesia Tbk, aku harus naik angkot dulu ke halte. Bisa angkot jurusan apa aja yang ke arah cengkareng. Nah dari situ aku naik busway dari terminal kalideres atau Halte Pesakih yang depan mall Daan Mogot. Haltenya kecil aja sih sebenarnya, gaada AC, posisinya kebuka buat tempat masuk bis. Nah, halte-halte ini biasanya ada di tengah-tengah jalan, jadi kita harus naik tangga penyeberangan yang cukup panjang tapi ga curam jadi ga bikin capek.

Kedua, aku harus beli kartu buat bayar tiket masuk. Sekarang udah banyak banget jenis kartu yang bisa kate pake. Bisa pake kartu Mega, BNI tapcash, BRI dll. Kalo ga punya, tinggal beli aja di konter. Harganya Rp 40.000,- saldonya Rp 20.000,-.

Ketiga, tinggal masuk aja. Sekali masuk bayarnya Rp 3.500,- Kalo berangkat pagi-pagi jam 6-7 harganya cuma Rp 2.000,-. Ini bayarnya cuma sekali aja, kemanapun tujuan kita. Jadi pas kita turun nanti kita ga perlu tap-tap lagi. Keluar aja langsung. Nah kalo singapore kan beda lagi. Kita harus bayar sesuai jauhnya perjalanan, walaupun untuk pelajar biasanya ada diskon. Dan kalau kita ga punya kartu kita juga bisa bayar cash langsung ke supirnya (ada mesinnya wkwk).

Nah keempat, kita tinggal tunggu busway nya datang aja. Hati-hati sama arahnya. Biasanya busway tuh ada tulisan jalurnya di bagian depan. Misalkan Kalideres-Pasar Baru. Hati-hati jangan salah lokasi naik bus. Di bagian atas ada petunjuknya juga kok, mau ke Kalideres atau Pasar Baru. Nanti ada "kenek" berseragam yang bakal ngasih tau busnya mau ke arah mana juga.

Transjakarta or busway ini sebenarnya udah punya banyak banget jalur (anyway karena aku bukan orang jakarta aku ga akan menjeleskan ttg jalur2 ini, karena maksud dari tulisan ini adalah agar orang naik busway ketimbang mobil or motor wkwk). Nah, beberapa jalur ini dihubungkan oleh beberapa halte yang jadi terminal, misalnya harmoni. Nah, kalau mau ke Sency aku ganti busway ke arah blok M dari harmoni. Gampang kok, di harmoni ada beberapa pintu yang dikhususkan untuk jalur-jalur busway.

Terus terang aku paling suka sama jalur blok M ini. Karena dengan naik jalur ini kita bisa ngelewatin pusat kota banget. Ada Monas, bundaran HI, Gelora Bung Karno, dll. Seru aja. Nah, kalau mau ke Sency turunnya di bundaran Senayan, terus jalan sekitar 500 m udah sampe Sency. Total perjalanan dari Pesakih-bundaran Senayan sekitar 1 jam 20 menit. Kasarnya dibutuhkan 2,5-3 menit untuk ngelewatin satu halte.

Guys-guys ku tersayang. Busway itu bagus banget lho buat kesehatan kita. Kenapa? karena kita harus jalan sedikit untuk sampai halte dan tempat tujuan kita. Dan terkadang kita ga dapet tempat duduk jadi kita harus berdiri selama kurang lebih 1 jam, dan ini bagus banget. Kenapa? karena duduk itu bikin gemuk dan meningkatkan resiko varises. Selain itu, kemacetan Jakarta bisa berkurang kalau orang-orang beralih ke busway. Less polution, less time, healthier. Kenapa orang-orang tetep milih naik mobil? Prestige, cari gampang.

Review Shower Gel

Hai hai hai!!!

Minggu kemarin aku baru aja beli dua shower gel baru. Ceritanya karena sabun yang aku bawa kp udah ga cukup, jd niat awalnya mau beli sabun mandi di watson, yang gede-gede seliter gitu. Eh, tapi pas lagi jalan di Sency, saking gedenya ini mall dan baru pertama kali ke situ (sendiri pula), malah ketemu The Body Shop di lantai bawah. Kebetulan aja lagi ada diskon 20%an, beli deh satu. Kebetulan wangi yang aku suka (udah ada dari lama) juga lagi diskon.

Nah besoknya habis CFD-an di bundaran HI, kita mampir dulu ke GI (sebenarnya lamaan di GI dibanding di CFD). Kebetulan banget Bath & Body Works lagi diskon 50%. Kucoba lah kan nyium2 wangi2annya. Jujur guys, wangi toko ini enak bangetttt! Gimana ga wangi, setiap 10 menit disemprotin pewangi ruangan sama mas-masnya. Tapi pewangi ruangannya tokcer banget sih. Lilin aromanya juga tokcer bangettt. Nah, aku beli juga deh shower gel-nya. Now, let's move to the review.

(kiri) Bath & Body Works (kanan) The Body Shop

Toko:   Bath & Body Works
Nama: Wrapped in Comfort Shea & Vitamin E Shower Gel
Tipe: Cashmere & Almond Creme
Harga: Rp 229.000,- (disc. 50%)
Isi: 295 mL/10 fl oz

Ini pertama kalinya aku beli sabun dari toko ini dan hasilnya...... luar biasa puas! Awalnya aku sempet ragu beli sabun ini karena aku baru aja beli sabun kemarin. Tapi mumpung lagi diskon 50% yaudah coba aja dulu. Wangi sabun ini manis banget. Tapi wanginya tahan sampe sore. Kalo udah agak siang, di ruangan ber AC gitu wanginya jadi agak lebih seger. Wah, intinya aku suka banget sama sabun ini. Kekurangannya ada di desainnya. Desainnya terlihat sepert sabun-sabun yang dijual di drugstore gitu. Apalagi botol dan tutup botolnya dari plastik yang kesannya agak murah. Harga aslinya juga cukup mahal sih wkwk, tapi untuk harga diskon 50% ini murah punya haha. Secara keseluruhan aku bakal kasih 4,4/5 buat sabun ini.

Toko: The Body Shop
Nama: Voyage Indian Night Jasmine Shower Gel
Harga: Rp 149.000,- (disc. 20%)
Isi: 250 mL/8,4 fl oz

Nah, yang satu ini wanginya manis juga. Pas nyabun wanginya enak banget. Wanginya tuh nyebar banget pas awal-awal dipake. Sayangnya wanginya cepat hilang. Kalo yang ini tahannya cuma sampe siang doang. Menurut aku, wanginya akan tahan lebih lama kalau kita pake body lotion dan eau de toilete nya juga. Kelebihannya dibanding sabun yang sebelumnya ada di wanginya sih. Wangi sabun-sabunnya bodyshop emang lebih enak dan lebih banyak pilihan. Overall aku kasih 4/5.

Nah, sebenarnya aku juga ada langganan shower gel-nya Yves Rocher sih. Sayang banget ga aku bawa kesini, jadi aku ga ingat nama dan harganya. Nah kalo yang Yves Rocher itu aku ambil yang wangi gandum, botolnya plastik bening, tutup putih. Label dan sabunnya juga warna putih. Wah, aku suka banget desain botolnya sih, simpel dan elegan. Nah, menurut aku Yves Rocher ini  ga beda jauh sama bodyshop untuk harga dan ketahanan wanginya ya. Tinggal pilih suka wangi yang Yves Rocher atau bodyshop. Sayangnya pilihan wangi Yves Rocher ini terbatas tapi dijamin wanginya enak-enak.

Gitu aja sih, kalau ada pertanyaan silahkan komen ya wkwkwk. Mohon maaf kalau ada kesalahan kata.

The Body Shop Blue Corn

3-in-1 Deep Purifying Scrub Mask (Rp 239.000)

Nama        : 3-in-1 Blue Corn Mask Scrub 100 mL
Harga        : Rp 239.000
Ukuran      : 100 mL
Jenis kulit  : normal/berminyak
Jargon        : cleanses, exfoliates, refines
Cara penggunaan: Oleskan secara merata pada wajah yang telah dibersihkan (pakainya jangan tipis-tipis). Diamkan selama 10-15 menit (tergantung ketebalan olesan). Pijat/gosok (pelan-pelan aja) untuk mengelupas masker. Bersihkan dengan air (hangat lebih bagus, pakai spons lebih bagus). Dapat digunakan 1-2 kali seminggu.

Jadi, sesuai namanya, Blue Corn ini merupakan scrub mask. Alias masker sekaligus scrub. Wanginya lumayan sih, mirip-mirip lah sama masker body shop yang lain (baca: masker tea tree). Bedanya masker ini lebih wangi, dan wanginya enak banget. Teksturnya cukup lembut untuk ukuran scrub, biji-bijinya kecil banget tapi agak keras.

Pertama kali pake, di beberapa bagian muka yang ada jerawatnya agak sedikit perih. Mungkin karena jerawatan ya. Tapi habis itu ga iritasi kok (asal jerawatnya emang nggak yang sensitif ya). Habis itu muka berasa segar banget. 2 kali aku pake (dalam waktu satu minggu) muka aku berasa lebih bersih dan lebih cerah. Mama juga bilangnya gitu (mungkin ada efek dari Acanthe triple C yang aku pake juga). Tapi menurut aku produk ini bagus banget dan cukup menyenangkan untuk orang-orang yang males harus perawatan muka 2 tahap (scrub dulu baru masker).

Akhir kata, aku ga nyesal beli produk ini dan aku berencana untuk beli lagi walaupun harganya naik (misalkan). Overall, aku kasih rating produk ini 4.5/5.

Well, ini review pertama aku, maafin kalo banyak kurangnya hehehe