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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Pohom beringin kembar jogja; Sebuah refleksi pencapaian impian hidup

Saya benar-benar tak akan menyangka bisa menginjakkan kaki di kota Yogyakarta sebelumnya. Saya bukan tipikal orang yang suka travelling. Jika bukan karena seorang kawan yang mengajakku kesana, mungkin saya tidak akan bisa mengunjungi tempat ini. Selama berkunjung ke Jogja, kami memiliki tujuan utama yaitu untuk mencari referensi buku yang akan kami (munkin lebih tepatnya temanku) gunakan untuk bahan skripsi. Namun disamping itu kami juga memiliki berbagai tempat tujuan lain, salah satunya adalah Pohon Beringin Kembar di Alun-alun Keraton Kidul Jogja. Saya dan teman-teman mencoba untuk melewati kedua beringin kembar itu. Konon katanya jika berhasil melewatinya dengan tanpa melihat, permintaan kita akan terkabul. I tried it finally. Pertamanya saya gagal tetapi saat saya mencoba untuk kedua kalinya saya berhasil!!!

Setelah mencobanya saya mulai berfikir “Saya rasa ada sebuah pesan esensi dari hal ini”. Dari hal ini saya menganalogikan aksi ini dengan realita dalam kehidupan kita.

1. Saat mata kita ditutup, tak ada yang bisa kita andalkan kecuali suara hati kita. Maka kepercayaan diri sangat diperlukan. Sekali lagi, mata kita tertutup dan itu membuat kita harus memiliki kepercayaan yang kuat untuk berani melangkah ke depan. Sebisa mungkin kita juga menerapkan kepercayaan diri dalam melangkah menuju impian hidup. Karena memang kepercayaan diri merupakan kunci awal. Bagaimana tidak? Semisal kita dalam sebuah job interview, kita memiliki keahlian, kemampuan, dan penampilan tapi kita tidak memiliki kepercayaan diri yang cukup, sudah dipastikan apa yang akan selanjutnya terjadi (I’ll let u guess what will happen next).

2. Selama berjalan, saya mendengar banyak suara-suara orang lain. Beberapa bilang “jalan terus” dan tak sedikit yang bilang “awas tembok”. Dan jika pikir lebih dalam memang dalam kehidupan akan terjadi hal ini. Saat dimana kita melakukan atau mengambil tindakan untuk diri kita dan tak sedikit orang-orang yang berkomentar. Beberapa komentar memang kadang ada benarnya tapi tidak sedikit yang justru menjerumuskan. Nah, semua itu kembali ke diri kita untuk memilah-milih mana yang perlu kita dengar. Memang kita lah yang menjalani hidup kita tetapi sebagai makhluk sosial terkadang kita juga memerlukan suara atau pendapat orang lain. Tak selamanya yang benar bagi kita, benar pula bagi orang lain atau masyarakat sekitar.

3. Fokus. Sehebat apapun cara jalan kita, jika kita tidak memiliki fokus yang bagus, kita akan kesulitan untuk melewati kedua beringin ini. Hal ini saya pikir juga berlaku saat kita berusaha mencapai impian kita. Fokus sangatlah diperlukan agar kita tidak tahu batas-batas dan jalur yang harus kita tuju. Memiliki fokus artinya kita memiliki starting point yang selanjutnya kita juga memiliki vision untuk garis akhir kita.

Setelah berfikir mengenai hal di atas saya mulai melakukan kajian realistis internal dengan diri saya sendiri. Saya rasa saat kita diiming-imingi dengan pernyataan bahwa permintaan atau impian kita akan tercapai saat kita berhasil melewati kedua beringin itu memang masuk akal. Masuk akal bukan karena nilai majis yang tergantung di dalamnya tetapi lebih karena sebuah nilai yang bisa kita korelasikan dengan realitas kita dalam mencapai tujuan. Karena saat kita mencoba meraih impian kita, tentunya kita memerlukan ketiga hal di atas yang juga diperlukan saat kita ingin berhasil melewati kedua beringin itu.

So, anda mau percaya atau tidak dengan mitos ini, it’s all up to u. Yang jelas saya telah mencoba dengan keinginan yang cukup aneh dan muluk-muluk yaitu mendapatkan uang satu miliar dan lulus tahun ini. Kalau dipikir-pikir saya bisa saja mendapatkan kedua hal itu asalkan saya memiliki kepercayaan diri, pintar memilih komentar orang, dan fokus.










foto beringin kembar di alun-alun keraton selatan Jogja.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

University of Canberra, Australia

Since I am in my final semester, I decided to make a short video about my uni so that I could look back and remember my uni days. Well, if you know me well enough, that won't be a strong enough excuse for me to go around uni snapping pictures and filming video. I basically came up with this video as part of a video competition organized by my university. The theme was "What U C".

So anyway, I've embedded my video below. It's not that fantastic because I only spent a couple of days on it and have other assignments to work on. I borrowed my friend's Canon 500D to take most of the shots and video and used Windows Movie Maker to edit the whole thing. The soundtrack is also provided by another friend of mine.

And if you do like the video, go on to youtube and like it. Hopefully I might be able to win a prize for my effort. And in case you're wondering why my uni looks so deserted, the reason is because I filmed most of the stuff on a weekend after my library shift. Also, due to legal complications, it was easier to film/take pictures without having anyone in it. If I do take a picture of someone, I will need to get them to fill up a form, consenting to the filming/picture taking process.

So, here's how my uni looks like.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Australia Permanent Residency (PR) / General Skilled Migration Independent Visa Subclass 885 Point Test


As this is my last semester here in Canberra, Australia, I've got to start planning ahead on what I want to do. At the moment, I really don't know. But since I'm here in Australia and have been studying here the past three years, I thought, why not apply for my permanent residency first and see how things work out? If I don't get it, that's fine, that won't be the end of the world. I can always head back to Malaysia and work for a couple of years and then decide where I want to go after that. If I get it, that's fine as well. I could stay here and work, and if I do like it here, maybe get my Australian citizenship 5-10 years down the road.

So anyway, my exams end on the 2nd of June and my results will be out on the 10th of June. If I were to apply for PR under the current point test, I'll definitely get it with a Band 7 in IELTS. But the Australian government recently announced a new point test for people applying on/after the 1st of July 2011. Under the new point test, I'll need to get a Band 8 in IELTS in order to qualify for the PR visa.

IELTS, for those who don't know, stands for the International English Language Testing System. There are four parts to this test; Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Those who take the test are scored out of nine for each section. And with the new PR point test, applicants would need to score a Band 8 our of 9 for every section in the test. I've got to say, I'm a bit worried about not getting an 8 for every section. Sure my Listening, Speaking and Reading skills are fine. But I'm not too confident with my writing ability. When I first applied for my uni, I only scored a Band 7 for my Writing section with the other sections getting an 8 or an 8.5.

Why not apply before the 30th of June 2011? Well, the thing is that I might not be able to get my application done within that 20 day period after my results are released. This is because, I'll need to get my skills assessed by a Chartered Accountant body in Australia once my results come out as part of my application for PR.

Anyway, here's a diagram of the new point test system for future applicants. You'll need 65 points in order to be eligible for Permanent Residency. Click to enlarge.


Under the old point test system, applicants would need to score 120 points in order to be eligible for PR. But points were easier to score back then. Here's a table of the old point test system. Click to enlarge.


Here's a comparison between the old and the new point test system. It's not that clear though. Click to enlarge.


My point test:
Age - 25 points (18-24 years old)
English language - 10 points (Band 7) / 20 points (Band 8)
Qualifications - 15 points (Bachelor degree)
Australian Study - 5 points (Minimum 2 years fulltime study)

Total = 55 points if I get a Band 7 in IELTS
Total = 65 points if I get a Band 8 in IELTS

So anyway, I've already registered and paid for my IELTS test over here. My test date is on the 13th and 14th of May. And the test fee is AUD $317 (RM700). It is so much cheaper to take my IELTS test in Malaysia because it only costs RM550 back in Subang.

And if I do well in my IELTS, I'll have to start forking out money to pay for the other expenses related with my PR application. Expenses such as a medical check up ($300+), police check both here in Australia and Malaysia ($60), skill assessment by professional body ($350+) as well as the application fee itself ($2575+). The prices quoted here were from when I enquired last year in 2010. These prices are expected to have increased by the time I apply. Overall, I would have to set aside about $3700 for the total application. That's excluding any translation and certification fee that I might have to pay to get my application done.

I guess that's all for now. Will update again on my PR application process.


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Adelaide Trip

So in my 'quest' to visit all of Australia (I've already visited Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart), I decided to give the small city of Adelaide which is located in South Australia a go during my one week mid semester break which ended last Sunday. From what I heard, Adelaide is supposed to be just like Canberra. A quiet, small city with nothing to do. And that I would have seen most of Adelaide if I've taken the city tram from one end to the other.

So when I actually got to Adelaide last Tuesday night, I was actually quite impressed with what Adelaide has. Their airport itself was so much bigger and nicer than Canberra's. A friend of mine, S, who used to attend the same high school and church with me very kindly offered to pick me up from the airport and allowed me to stay at his awesome apartment for the four nights I was there. He came with another friend, W, also from the same high school and church and we went out for supper at about 10pm that night. It was good to be able to catch up with them after not seeing each other for such a long time.

The supper for that night was...
AB or also known as Abortion,
a local specialty that is found only in Adelaide.

From wiki:

The AB is a type of fast food from Adelaide which has been popular with university students since its creation. It is made up of chips, and yiros meat, covered with tomato, barbecue, garlic sauce and tzatziki. Its somewhat grotesque appearance is the source of the name "AB", for "abortion", or "after-birth". It is also known to be sold as an Atomic Bomb or Dog's Breakfast at other Adelaide eateries. It is commonly eaten after or during a night of drinking, or as a hangover food. While $9 is the normal price for an AB, it is merely the minimum possible size: ABs in excess of $350 have reportedly been consumed.
Only two North Adelaide take-out cafes currently serve the AB: the North Adelaide Burger Bar and the Blue and White, which are both on O'Connell Street within three storefronts of each other. Both claim to be the inventor of the AB, and both claim to make a superior AB to the other. The main difference is that the Red and White includes tzatziki sauce whilst the Blue and White does not.

Well anyway, this abortion thing is super unhealthy but tastes pretty good.

And on the way back from supper, I realised that there were still a lot of food outlets open with patrons still in them even though it was getting close to 12 on a Tuesday night. Wish I had that in Canberra.

The apartment where my friend stayed in the city

On Wednesday morning, I walked around the city a little and visited Adelaide uni. The roads in the city are all very straight as Adelaide is a planned city. But the funny thing is even though the roads are straight, the same road can have two different names. I later found out from my friend that no street/road can pass over the main street which is called King William Road, named in honour of the King. And therefore, every street would have to end at this road and would have a different name across this King William Road (I've highlighted the main road in red).

Adelaide city map. Click to enlarge.

Staring down King William Road

See how straight the roads are?

Also, while walking around the city, I saw a number of pianos (pic below) along the streets in Adelaide. Apparently anyone can just go up the piano, take a seat, and play to their hearts' content. I think that this is a very cool idea.

I think I counted about 6 pianos in the city. There's probably more that I didn't see.


Adelaide also has two very well known universities. Apparently, a lot of Malaysians study there. They are:

The University of Adelaide

and the University of South Australia

In the evening, my friend took me out to this really popular Vietnamese place for dinner. The food there was pretty good and really authentic. Forgotten to snap pictures there so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The next day, my other friend, W, took me to a small German village, Hahndorf, with two of her friends. It took us about 40 minutes on the bus from the city to get there. The weather was lovely that day with a max temperature of 17 degrees.







The following day, I went to Adelaide's Central Market. In there were lots of different stalls selling all sorts of things. From cheese, to bread, to coffee, to sweets, to middle eastern spices, to italian delicacies and so on. It was nice to walk around and sample some of the things they have over there.



Lots of different kinds of cheese. Tasted a few different kinds and they were so good!

All kinds of bread you can think of


The sweet shop was pretty popular with the kids



After that, I decided to catch the city tram from one end to the other. The ride was about 40 odd minutes roughly. And at the end of the tram line was the beach. It's just so convenient for people there in Adelaide to go to the beach.

The tram

The fare

I can actually see the ocean from the tram stop

The town centre with the building that used to be the City Hall on the left

The beach with pockets of random people sun tanning. I was actually wearing my wind breaker then because it was sooo cold. Don't know how those people can stand it.

A view from the pier.

They had this awesome slides there by the beach. Might go back there during summer to try it out.

In the evening, my friend took me to this place called the Mac Factory where they sold really good macaroons. This place was currently the hyped of the town because it only opened its doors very recently and sold really good macaroons. Each macaroon cost AUD $2. Macaroons are hard to make because it requires a lot of skill. And the Mac Factory has all sorts of flavours ranging from the normal chocolate to flavours such as toasted bread and honey, strawberry mint and so on.

According to wiki, 'A macaroon is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency. The original macaroon was a "small sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds" similar to Italian or Moroccan amaretti.'



The different flavoured macaroons


I guess that pretty much summarised by whole my trip. I didn't really get to do a lot as I was also pretty occupied with my assignments while I was there. Anyway, below are just a couple of random pic



Their main railway station in the city

The Torrens River in the city

Adelaide has a lot of old buildings that are really well maintained

One of the many churches over there in Adelaide. Adelaide is known as the city of churches with more than 700 over churches at the last count in 2008.

Inside the church



And because there are no cheap direct flights from Canberra to Adelaide, I had to stop over Melbourne on Monday night and only flew down to Adelaide the day after. And since I was in Melbourne, I took the opportunity to grab myself a good bowl of yummy pork ball noodles at the Coconut House in Melbourne city. It was absolutely delicious.


That's all for now. Am currently in the middle of everything with mid semester tests to study for and lots of assignments to hand in. Take care!