Pembulatan?

Jadi teringat kejadian pas hari sebelum labtek pertama.

Waktu itu gw lagi beli-beli keperluan-keperluan yang kira-kira dibutuhkan (tapi ternyata sih akhirnya gw beli-beli barang ga penting seperti plastik pembungkus jurnal padahal bahan baku buat praktikum gw, yaitu PATI, ternyata ga tersedia di gudang bahan tercinta dan harus disediakan sendiri). Setelah gw liat2 sekilas safety-nya, ternyata peralatannya mencakup sarung tangan dan masker.

Trus gw mikir. Percobaan gw kan di lab bawah yang suka dironda si papi wali gw yang udah notorius suka ngasih SP gak jelas kan. Jadi mending gw sediain sarung tangan dan masker. Toh murah gini.

Masker  sih gw dah punya yang gw beli pas lab BP. Sementara waktu itu gw nyari sarung tangan lab ga ada. Nah, jadilah gw ke kimia farma nyari sarung tangan.

Setelah menimbang-nimbang antara ukuran 7, 7 setengah, dan 8, akhirnya gw ngambil dua pasang dan berjalan menuju kasir. Satu pasangnya itu harganya sama semua, yaitu 5400 rupiah.

Gw ke kasir dan ternyata gw harus ngantri padahal ga ada orang lain yang ngantri. Kenapa? Si kasir di Kimia Farma malah melenggang ke daerah belakang padahal gw udah mau bayar dan gw paling benci nunggu lama. Jadinya gw ngeluarin duit sambil menunggu si kasir nyebelin itu. Gw sengaja bayar pas, pake selembar 10 ribuan ama 4 koin 200 rupiah, soalnya koin di dompet gw dah kebanyakan.

Terus akhirnya si kasir kembali. Dia mengetik belanjaan gw di komputer dan berkata, “Sepuluh ribu tujuh ratus.”

Gw bingung. Sepanjang pengetahuan matematis gw yang lumayan, 5400 kali dua itu sama dengan sepuluh ribu delapan ratus. Gw males kan, soalnya duitnya udah sampai gw letakkan di depan kasir.

So, I asked, “Bukannya jadi sepuluh ribu ‘lapan ratus ya, mbak?”

Gw mengharapkan jawaban yang berkisar antara ‘ada diskon’ atau ‘labelnya salah’ atau sesuatu yang lebih masuk akal.

Tapi si mbaknya menjawab, “Iya, kalau di sini, pembulatannya ke bawah”.

*jreng jreng…*

Gw tiba-tiba kehilangan kata-kata. Terus dengan bengong gw cuman bisa bilang, “Oh…, makasih ya mbak,” dan keluar dari Kimia Farma.

Pembulatan?? Apa yang mo dibuletin coba? Kalo mau dibuletin seh harusnya 10800 jadi 10000. Tapi yah,, masa gw mesti menjelaskan pembulatan ke mbak itu, blum lagi kalo si mbak ga stuju trus gw didebat balik. Demi 100 rupiah? Akhirnya gw pulang aja, daripada capek…

Stress Related

Penulis blog ini sedang stres. Di antara 3 jadwal pembicaraan, 2 tugas, 1 penyiapan praktikum, serta 1 revisi laporan, penulis juga harus memiliki waktu untuk belajar, untuk 2 ujian yang mana masing-masing bahannya satu buku penuh. So she is on the verge of depression-slash-saturation, on which point she’ll be singing along every song that’s being played in her Laptop. Right now she’s trying to decide whether to name her Laptop Chloe or Eugenie. That’s how stressed she is. Plus, notice how she’s writing in third person.

(Although she somehow managed to find time to write a post… XD)

She didn’t see this coming. Monday was fine. It was her least favorite day of the week (on account of having to listen to US and MP). But now, every day is a struggle.

On Tuesday, she was meeting two different lecturer for two different lab experiment. The first one was the post-lab, at noon. Then the second one was the pre-lab, at 5 pm.
The first lecturer wanted a revised report on Monday. The second wanted to see her and her lab partner again on Wednesday.

Then the author went home, and still have a really nauseating assignment to do: Waste Management, which was all about constitution and what-not. Anda mengerti kan, Undang-Undang RI itu bahasanya canggih, sementara si penulis suka mabuk sendiri kalau membaca Bahasa Indonesia yang muter sana muter sini akhirnya tujuannya itu juga.

And then today, she had that second meeting for her fermentation experiment next week. The lecturer wanted her to get a 300 mL syringe, a T connector (and she had absolutely no idea what the hell that is), and a 1-meter-hose for that T.

Meeting with this lecturer is an art of its own.
Lecturer: Apa yang dimaksud dengan limiting substrate?
Author: Sustrat pembatas, pak.
Lecturer: Iya, itu terjemahannya, saya tahu. Tapi apa itu limiting substrate atau substrat pembatas?
Author: (*gulp*)

Or this one:
Lecturer: Jadi bagaimana kita membuat glukosa sebagai substrat pembatas?
Author: ………. (*complete silence… The author looked at her partner, and the partner looked back, but no one spoke*)
Lecturer: (*stood up, went to the end table on the corner to make himself a cup of coffee*)
Author: (*wiped the perspiration off her forehead*)

*sigh*

The author never felt more stupid.

She is taking the instructional laboratory aka labtek. A couple of terms:
Labtek = mata kuliah di teknik kimia yang bertujuan mendorong mahasiswa menuju ambang stres berkelanjutan yang dapat memicu perilaku aneh, kegilaan sementara (temporary insanity), pola makan yang aneh serta pola tidur yang lebih aneh lagi.
Pembicaraan awal = suatu jenis interaksi antar dosen dan calon praktikan yang merupakan syarat untuk melakukan praktikum, di mana para dosen akan merasa marah/sebal/takjub (dengan kebodohan para calon praktikan), atau dengan sabar membimbing calon praktikan, atau malah mengusir para calon praktikan, sementara para calon praktikan makin lama merasa makin goblok (that, is in the author’s case).
Praktikum = merupakan kegiatan yang memakan waktu seharian selama dua hari berturut-turut di mana para praktikan melaksanakan instruksi dosen, dengan tujuan memperoleh data yang semirip mungkin dengan teori baik dari hasil percobaan maupun dari rekayasa data. Umumnya cara yang kedua lebih sering dipakai.
Laporan singkat = laporan yang masa penyusunannya singkat, bertujuan memaksa para praktikan tidak tidur semalaman karena harus menulis laporan ini dengan tangan serta mencari cara untuk menjelaskan kenapa data yang diperoleh menyimpang dari teori.
Laporan lengkap = bentuk panjang dari laporan singkat, yang sifatnya lebih menyiksa lagi.
Pembicaraan akhir = bentuk interaksi antara dosen dan praktikan, di mana praktikan berusaha menjelaskan penyimpangan yang terjadi pada hasil percobaannya dan dosen membaca laporan verbatim, kemudian meminta revisi.

Anyone wanna add anything? =)

The Theory of Trial-and-Error

Anyone expecting to read a scientific post about a mathematical method, you got the wrong blog.

During my undergraduate study (which is still ongoing), I’ve met a lot new characters. A lot of them are nice, some are quirky, some are self-centered, some are irresponsible, some are easy-going, some are TOO easy-going, some are over-sensitive, but everyone is unique.

Of course.

And then there’re the behavioural patterns. There’s the bossy ones, and the ones always being bossed around. The ones who trash-talk others like there’s nothing he/she would better do. Those who gossip (like moi ). Those who study from sun rise to sun set (a bit of exaggeration, but yes, there are some VERY diligent people), and those who study a day before exams. And then there’s the people who think negatively about others without looking into the mirror once. This type usually thinks that the world is conspiring against him/her somehow, while all along it was his/her way of thinking that is too shallow, too narrow.

THEN, there’re the ones who practice trial-and-error, in their love life.

The theory is this:
Let’s say you’re a guy. You approached a girl with romantic intentions, or as we say it, ‘pdkt’. The probability that she returns the feeling is 50%. But the probability that she doesn’t is the other 50% (assuming that it’s a 50-50 chance; but of course, it’s emotional, so in reality it’s not always 50-50). But say you approached 2 girls at the same time. The probability of you being accepted just went up to 66,6%.

Ah, see where I’m going?

The more you try, the higher the probability of your success is. Just like in old, simple trial-and-error method. When trial 1 failed, you tried again. The second trial failed, you tried again.

And in some cases, yet again. And again, and again, and again until the goal is reached. I give that sort of person two thumbs up for persistence and will power, although some people’s persistence isn’t going to pay up until doomsday.  XD

I’ve met some guys who practice this kind of approach. I’m not saying that girls don’t do this, but I don’t know any girls who do so. I personally dubbed this type of guy a “desperado”. *lol*
A guy once ‘liked’ one of my friends. He ‘tried’. It went error (it was more “ERROR!!!” XD). Then he went and conducted another ‘trial’ on my other friend. Of course, this time it went even more error than the first time.

I’m sorry if any of you guys thought I’m writing about you and got offended, but it’s the truth. And MAYBE, just maybe, I AM writing about you.

I Heart Lee Ki Woo

He is just so my type (haha).

Lee Ki Woo

It’s not exactly Lee Ki Woo that I heart. It’s his character in A Love To Kill.

I watched the series years ago but I didn’t get to watch the whole series; I missed some episodes. So I recently watched the series from the beginning to the end. And guess what? I fell for Kim Joon Sung, Lee Ki Woo’s character in A Love To Kill.

Kim Joon Sung is smart (speaks korean, english, french, and japanese!!!), refined, cool, always getting what he wanted (since his father is oh-so-rich). That’s until he fell in love. He fell head over heels for a woman (the main character), lost all his coolness and senses, and really went over board to get the woman to love him too.

Aaa~h, I heart him… ^^

I liked his polished-though-a-little-bit-nerdy-look. But like I said, I liked the character. About the actor himself, Lee Ki Woo, I have not a clue.

Here’s some more heart-ing (?) picture of Lee Ki Woo… ^^

Lee Ki Woo (gyaaa~)

As Kim Joon Sung (gyaaa~)

Gyaaa~

Foto ini rada lebay seh,, haha,, (tapi tetep,, gyaaa~)

Perhaps the appropriate title is “I Heart Kim Joon Sung”, not “I Heart Lee Ki Woo” )

Growing Up

Remember when we were a child? We were not required to say anything except greetings in the presence of company. Like, say, when we went to a friend’s or a relative’s house. Our parents would be delighted enough if we sat down nicely and behaved like an angel. Even if we didn’t utter a word. Or if a friend or a relative was visiting, we were allowed to play in our rooms.

Or let’s say there were the rare occasions when you said something (unless, of course, you couldn’t shut your mouth up even as a child). You said something right, you got a pat on the head or a light pinch on both cheeks. You said something wrong or inappropriate, the guests would laugh, your parents said a word or two of reprimand, and anything you said would be forgotten in a second.

But now we were expected to express our opinions. Uncles asked us how our study was going, while aunts might prefer prying over our non-existing love life *lol*.

And of course, we slipped up. We said the wrong things (at least I do). People got offended. People got angry. Then somewhere in the process of growing up I perfected my mask (or a filter, whichever you prefer). Like in the soundtrack of Mulan: “Look at me, you may think you see who I really am, but you’ll never know me. Everyday it’s as if I play a part.”

Yeah, it’s corny. But as corny as it is, I really feel this is the song of my life, at least my part of life as a teenager. And still is now.

For example, recently I slipped. I made a comment I shouldn’t have. It was none of my business. But what did I do? I butted my nose into other people’s “disagreement”. And the words I used couldn’t really satisfy to convey my thoughts; I didn’t get the whole idea out. Yet people’s reaction made me re-evaluate.

Then I realized. They were taking it seriously. I wasn’t. That’s where the slipping up happened. I was just conveying simply what was on my mind. Which I shouldn’t have. But I did anyway. And the only thing left to do now is damage control.

(It’s confusing right? I don’t know half of what I was writing on this post *lol*)

Twilight Quiz

In the spirit of Project Twilight (which isn’t completed yet), today I took a test from www.quizilla.com,to know which Twilight character I am. Click here for the quiz.

Here’s my result:

Which Twilight novel character are you

20008 other people got this result! That’s 36%

Your Result

You’re Bella Swan – You are intelligent and kind but not quite sure what you want out of life yet. You have a feeling there’s something more out there for you. You’re attracted to those who are real and avoid the fake. Sometimes you’re a bit accident prone, but your true friends will always be loyal to you and come to your aid when you need it.

*sigh*

I AM accident prone (like, say, those poor lab equipments I broke), but not as bad as Bella. Indeed, she got lots of stitches on a daily basis. I have never so much as step into a hospital with blood dripping from me.

Anyway, this is the result of having too much time and not too many things to do. Note that I didn’t state that I had nothing to do. In fact, I have to go finish an assignment now.

Instructional Lab Continued…

After what seemed to be an eternity of titration samples, I finally finished today’s experiment. Today’s run was basically the same as yesterday’s, only the starch solution is 40% w/w, namely 800 g of tapioca in a 2 L solution.

This time the solution was even more glutinous and harder to stir. It’s a good thing we solubilize the starch in room temperature water first. When the reactor is heated, the solution gets more sticky, like when you’re making glue.

After a tiring day, a report still has to be written. Yes, written. As in by hands. In the 21st century.

And the hand-written report has to be submitted the next day, at 12 pm the latest.

*sigh*

Our lecturers are just absolutely fun characters, aren’t they?

First Instructional Lab

Today is my first instructional laboratory!!!

I spent today weighing 200 g of tapioca, then diluting it, then heating it to 55 degrees celcius, added 2 mL of α-amylase, then heating the somewhat glutinous starch solution for two hours, reaching maximum temperature of 90 degrees celcius.  After two hours, the heat is lowered (by wrapping the reactor with ice-filled cloth) to 50-60 degrees. The pH is measured with a universal indicator, then acid is added until the pH is around 5. The glucoamylase is added and samples are taken at certain intevals to be titrated using Fehling’s reagent and a solution of standard glucose.

It’s really tiring.

The so-called reactor turned out to be a cooking pan with the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of 22 cm.  Then I went and made the wrong glucose solution. The module stated that a 2% w/w solution is needed, but I copied last year’s laboratory journal that stated to make the solution from 2 g of glucose powder and 1 L of water. And like a dumbass I followed the journal.

Just in the middle of the titration that I realized that 2 g of glucose in a 1 L solution means it 0.2%!!! Stupid!

Hhh…hope to do better next time.

Is It Them?

In Boston Legal season 2, an overly-obese man was persuaded to sue a snack company for making him fat. He claimed that the snack (I forgot the name, it’s some sort of cake) made him addicted and as a child he devoured up to 3 boxes (!) of that snack in one effing day.

I thought that this was another joke from Boston Legal. The senior partner who handled this case IS crazy and just got out of the hospital. I thought, “That man can’t control his appetite and he’s suing the snack company? If he wins, this world is really insane. If he can even make a case, it’s absurd.”

Then Shirley Schmidt made her argument. She listed all the ingredients of the snack; the colouring which is metal-based and of course unhealthy, preservatives, etc, then she came to high fructose corn syrup. She said that this corn syrup inhibits the production of leptin, and leptin is the hormone that tells our brain that we are full and that we should stop eating.

Naturally, I forgot about it for a while, UNTIL…I went grocery-shopping in the supermarket (I don’t really buy grocery, but it’s still called grocery-shopping, right?). I had taken a bag of chocolate marshmallow and was about to put it in the basket when a sudden thought stopped me. I remembered Shirley Schmidt and what she said, and I recall how I can eat the whole bag in one day if only my mind doesn’t scream, “Are you nuts!?  You really want to eat all that sugar? Do you want to get diabetes?”

But the thing is, eating marshmallow is like an addiction. Well, not really an addiction. It’s…uhm…you want to eat the second one after you ate the first one, and the third after the second. At least that’s what happen with me and marshmallows.

So I skimmed through the ingredient list, and there it was, seemingly innocent: high fructose corn syrup.

I decided that marshmallows might not be a great idea. I want to do some research first.
And I found out that it’s all true. I read the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and found that high fructose corn syrup indeed reduces the concentration of leptin.

“…, a low insulin concentration after ingestion of fructose would be associated with lower average leptin concentrations than would be seen after ingestion of glucose. Because leptin inhibits food intake, the lower leptin concentrations induced by fructose would tend to enhance food intake. This is most dramatically illustrated in humans who lack leptin. Persons lacking leptin (homozygotes) are massively obese, and heterozygotes with low but detectable serum leptin concentrations have increased adiposity, which indicates that low leptin concentrations are associated with increased hunger and gains in body fat.“
Click here for the full journal.

Right now, more food and beverages are using high fructose corn syrup as a sugar substitute. The manufacturers claimed that the corn syrup is natural. True, it might be more natural than aspartame or saccharin. But I personally will try to eat less products with corn syrup in it, since researches are still ongoing and showing the corn syrup bad effects for our health.
http://www.sprol.com/?p=236
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1841910,00.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588

M for Make-up, M for Men?

I was chatting idly with my friend, Miss RN, about random things when she told me the remark our mutual friend said to her the other day.

That friend of ours, Mr BG, who happens to be male, said that we, women, apply make-up to attract men.

This seemingly innocent remark sent me to a semi-indignant fit. “WHAT!?” I exclaimed.

“That’s what I said,” Miss RN put in, “I said that no, we apply make-up for ourselves. For our sake, not theirs. And then he said again, ‘Yeah, but in the end, it’s all for men, right?’ “

I think that Mr BG implied that all we could ever wish for is to attract a man, got him to propose, married him, had kids, and grew old and fat.

Well, come on, you can’t be THAT deluded, guys.

Do you really think that we spent all that money on a Shu Uemura eyelash curler, or Lancome mascara, or an Etude blush-on, or a Christian Dior lipstick, for the sake of men, who I might add, wouldn’t know what these items are for, save for the lipstick?

Do you really think that all the time we spent on applying all those creams, powder, concealer, etc, is for the faint hope that some guy would think us beautiful?

Well, let’s get this straight. Make-up and men, had nothing to do with each other. And if someday I get into a relationship with a man who knew more about make up than I do, I seriously will walk out the door. Unless he is Wentworth Miller or someone as pretty.

There was a time, long long ago, when the biggest fear of women our age was that they would be an old maid; that they could never find a man who would marry them. Well, NOW, my biggest fear is to be unable to find any employer who would hire me.

And in the case of finding that soul-mate (if ever such thing exists), of course we all want to. But we would want someone who loves us just the way we are, without the make-up. Because seriously, applying make-up is fun and all, but even I don’t wear make-up at home.

AND, at the rate that things are changing, maybe someday you guys will be wearing tight pants to attract rich, middle-aged ladies to marry you and then support you financially. We are looking at more and more stay-at-home dads, right?