I Once Hated Med School

The fourth prompt in Writing 101 is about loss. It says, "Write about a loss: something (or someone) that was part of your life, and isn't any more."
I don't like that prompt, to be honest.
Actually, I'm a person who can move on easily after losing someone or something. I think I will talk about the loss that changed myself: the lost of interest in medical school.
I've always been interested in medicine. When people ask me why I choose to study medicine I always say, "Because I like it." However, there was time when medical school seemed to suck my life.
I was in second year. The subjects were difficult at that time. We had to study neoplasm, musculoskeletal, respiratory system, neurology, reproduction, urology, digestive system, and cardiology. 
Those subjects are important but they were overwhelming for me so I lost my interest in learning. I didn't study well for tests and exams. I didn't read a lot before group discussion. I didn't really care whether I failed or passed a test. I was like, "Why should I study this? I will forget it anyway so why should I study?"
I felt guilty for that but I just couldn't focus my mind. I just lost interest. I was tired. 
Now in my third year I'm doing better. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because the subjects in third year aren't so overwhelming as in second year. Or there may be other causes.

Three Songs and Some Stories

Today's prompt in Writing 101 is, "Write about the three most important songs in your life - what do they mean to you?"
I listen to many songs but I don't actually have important songs in my life. However, I'll still make a list of three songs.
3. Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance 
When I read the lyrics for the first time, there were some words I didn't know the meaning. I guess I should thank My Chemical Romance for expanding my vocabulary. 
2. Child in Time - Deep Purple
My mother bought Deep Purple cassette several times and she was always disappointed if the Child in Time song in the cassette is just the 4 minute version. She said, "Why is this song cut? You should listen to the long version. It's very good." Then one day we bought a CD and we cheered after finding out that it had the long version of Child in Time.
1. Asmaradana
I haven't found a version of Asmaradana that I like in YouTube. In wikipedia, there are two versions of Asmaradana lyrics. The one was often sung by my late grandmother.

Aja turu sore kaki                              (Don't sleep early, [kaki])
Ana dewa nganglang jagad            (There is god wandering around the universe)
Nyangking bokor kencanane          (carrying a golden [box])
Isine donga tetulak                            (It contains [prayer against the bad])
Sandhang kelawan pangan             (Clothes and food)
Yaiku bageyanipun                            (That are meant for)
wong melek sabar narima               (people who are awake and patient to accept)

The words I put in [....] are the words I'm not sure about the translation. I understand the meaning but I just don't know the proper English translation. "Kaki" in this song is not "kaki" in Indonesian which means foot. Kaki here is for addressing someone but I forget who that someone is.
By the way in wikipedia, the last line is, "wong welek sabar narima" but my grandma sang it as, "wong melek sabar narima."
Since I'm not so philosophical right now, I will write about the message behind this song in the future.

Take Me to the Bookstore

Today's prompt in Writing 101 is, "If you could zoom through space in the speed of light, what place would you go to right now?"
I would go to book store right now. It sounds simple but I really need to refresh my mind. I didn't actually do a lot of things recently but I'm just a little tired.
In the bookstore, I usually go to stationery section first. I have this weird obsession for stationery. Everytime I see a cute notebook, I just want to buy it. If I buy it, I won't know what I should use it for. If I don't buy it, I'll be obsessed a little longer.
I will then visit the shelves of fiction novels and look for any unsealed novel so I can take a look and read. That unsealed novel is a good thing when I visit a bookstore and I don't have enough money to buy book. I once read "Peter Nimble" novel in a bookstore but I didn't finish it. I then came over and over to read Peter Nimble but one day, I can't find the book. It was sold out. 
I also like comic section. My favourite comic? Asterix, Conan, and Miiko. I also want to read "Three Kingdoms" comic series but I can't find them in the bookstore. If you're curious about Three Kingdoms, you can read it in here. The comic version is interesting and easy to understand.
What do you like to see in the bookstore?

20 Minutes to Free Write

The first assignment of Wordpress Writing 101 is to take twenty minutes to free write. Here I go.

It rains outside. An Indonesian puppet master, Sujiwo Tejo once said that "If you can't make a poem when it rains then you're ...." I forget what he actually said. It was something like "not romantic" or "doesn't have feeling", or something like that.

I've just realised that I've never posted my poem in this blog. The last time I wrote poem was in 12th grade. I was 17 or 18 at that time. That was a short poem like this

Senja

Pagi ini kulihat senja

Senja?

Percayalah, itu senja

Translation:

Dusk

This morning I saw dusk

Dusk?

Believe me, that was dusk

I remembered that was a last-minute poem. I procrastinated a lot (I still do).

Back to the rain. If I have to write a poem about rain right now it would be like

Rain lightly

Softly

I'm not gloomy,

just sleepy

Duh. I need more practice in writing poem.

It's April 6th and I'm going to have pediatrics written exam on April 17th. I have to revise soon. 

I also have to think about what I should write in my undergraduate thesis. I consider psychiatry. I've thought about one title but I'm required to write three titles first. Those three titles will be validated then I will write thesis with only one title. Why three?!!

Talking about April. If I'm not mistaken, it's supposed to be a dry season in Indonesia. Correct me if I'm wrong. Global warming affect the seasonal change, I guess. You know, Sapardi Djoko Damono's poem "Hujan Bulan Juni" means June rain. What's so special about "June Rain"? When the poem was written, the seasons still changed regularly so June was a dry month. At that time, there was no rain on June. The poem "Hujan Bulan Juni" talks about June rain that longs for the flowery tree but it keeps its feeling secret. How do you interpret it? Who do you think June rain is?

Now I'm going to write a case report and look for the three titles, I guess.

Du weiβt, was wunderschön ist – oder?

Du weiβt, was wunderschön ist – oder?

Lese das erste Wort noch mal.

Want to know the translation? Look at this page. Once I sent the translation to my friend and she was happy.

When I read that page, I laughed reading this

Jemand folgt dir auf Twitter => Juhu, ein neuer Follower!

Jemand folgt dir im richtigen Leben = Oh mein Gott, ein Stalker!

Translation:

Someone follows you on Twitter => Yoohoo, a new follower!

Someone follows you in real life => Oh my God, a stalker!

Friday Lecture Note: Exercise while You're Young

I study geriatrics and one lecturer said, "Before you enter 30s, you have to exercise often so you can maintain your bone mass when you grow old." Another lecturer said, "Two best sports are swimming and cycling, especially swimming. If you can't swim then learn to swim while you're still young."
Those lecturers gave me idea on what I should do on weekend.

Religion and Politics: I Should be Careful

I talk about various things but there are two things that I choose to be careful with, especially in facebook: religion and politics. Religion is sensitive, politics is scary.
Let's talk about religion first. I'm a muslim and I still need to learn a lot about Islam. I sometimes share religious post in my facebook. However, I don't share religious content on topic that I don't understand. I don't share content that, in my opinion, can lead to debate or, even worse, conflict. 
About politics, .... Well, I can still share religious content but I don't share any political content in my facebook. I learn it from my father. Every time there is political news and I tell my father, he often says, "That's what you know. The truth can be different." Considering my general principle in the internet, "I don't share content that I don't understand," I take my father's advice seriously.