My Grateful List and Strength List

A few hours ago I wrote about making the grateful list and my strength list. The grateful list shouldn't be difficult, but I shall not write too much here to avoid showing off. However, I find it hard to make my strength list, especially after I suffered a loss of confidence for the last two years. Well, I should just try.

My Grateful List

• I am healthy.
• I have achieved some of my dreams.
• I am on my way to achieve some of my dreams.
• My family is healthy and getting better at some things.
• I am a PhD student with some experience in not one, but two industries.

My Strength List

• I am bright. 
• Indeed I am poor at some skills, but I am sure I can learn new things and be good at it.
• I know how to learn new things.
• I have learnt to cope with many challenges in life.
• I have a better understanding of how myself and people work (a.k.a. a wisdom, to some extent).
• I know how to network; I just need to cultivate my interpersonal skills.
• I am awesome.

Alhamdulillah.

New Effort, Last Effort

Years ago, in early 2007, I had a freelance work on a book about a girl fought her way out of depression. That was my first time confronting this issue. I learned about depression from her stories, and I remember thinking I can relate to her struggle to some extent. But back then I didn’t consider the possibility seriously, perhaps because I wasn’t losing myself, perhaps because I still can handle it.

Between 2008 to 2010, I had moments when I just wanted to disappear. Accepting the fact that I failed to study abroad costed me three days zombie-ing in my room. And my family’s undergoing turbulent challenges put me—all of us, indeed—in constant stress. All I wanted was to go to school again.

I started graduate school in 2010 and things declined steadily. Some of my friends were young women dreaming of a happy marriage—one of the reasons why I wanted to study abroad, avoiding this kind of talk. I started PhD classes in 2011, a nervous little girl among experienced lecturers and researchers. Soon I realized that a PhD thesis was beyond my league. And I had to work. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Cosplay Recommendations for Muslim Girls

I'm not sure if cosplaying is my new hobby, but I keep thinking of next costumes. I have just done two costumes: Katara (Legend of Aang) and random-Jedi (Star Wars). I can say that people hardly notice a hijabi cosplayer, since modifications on the costume makes its typical features less visible. However, I will not prioritize cosplay than hijab, so I observe the following principles in creating my costumes.

• clothes are loose enough
• headscarf covers me properly
• at least half of my thighs are covered by skirt (or some kind of)
• costume is practical enough to be worn on daily activities

Well, the last point is not relevant to hijab; it's more because I don't want to waste my money on something I'll only wear a couple of times a year. And I'm happy to have something unique without attracting attention of commoners. To make me stop thinking of possible costumes, I decide to list it here.

1. Disney Princesses

I think they are obvious options. Most Princesses have official long dresses that need minor modifications (just cover the shoulders and add a headscarf). My favorite is Merida, and her hunting dress is on my next-cosplay list. If only dark teal fabric is not difficult to find...

The blue dress is pretty, but not practical, and I'm not skilled enough to make patterns.

Jurassic World: Born Out of Greed

Keywords: sci-fi, dinosaur, theme park

Audience: PG

Violent content: dinosaurs fight each other, humans eaten by dinosaurs (mild visualization) 

Sexual content: two short kisses

Jurassic World is the movie that I looked forward to this summer (even more than Terminator: Genisys). I saw Jurassic Park as a child and really enjoyed it (not too happy with JP 2 and JP 3, though). I even read the comic adaptation and played the video game (on SEGA console) for at least four times. Like for many of you, Jurassic Park is a part of my childhood.

I thought the Jurassic franchise was dead. I'm happy I was wrong. And I'm pleased that the development team decided not to rush the development of Jurassic World (or Jurassic Park IV, as the project was earlier called). And it's cool that it is a sequel, not a reboot of the franchise, since I don't think anyone can do a better Jurassic Park.

If you want to take your children to see Jurassic World, I can tell you that it is less violent than Jurassic Park in terms of fighting, eating, and blood (there is a talk about war, which is inappropriate for children, but I don't think little kids will understand or even care). However, if your kids are easily scared, you should consider showing this movie later when they're older.

Jurassic World is a living theme park in Isla Nubar. It's been opened for years to the point that people get used to seeing dinosaurs. The park's income slows down and the board of directors decided they need something bigger, louder, cooler, and has more teeth. Thus they invent a hybrid dinosaur: Indominus Rex. The movie follows two brothers venturing the park when Indominus Rex runs amock in the island and some people, including their aunt who happens to be the park manager, trying to save the day.

Panjang Kain, Jenis Kain, dan Toko Kain Online (untuk Membuat Baju)

Sejak berhijab, saya kesulitan menemukan baju yang cocok untuk saya. Saya tidak suka memakai gamis, sementara rok panjang menyulitkan gerakan saya. Di sisi lain, saya tidak bisa memakai baju sepinggang (walaupun lengannya panjang). Baju sepaha sulit ditemukan; di mal sedikit saja merek yang biasa membuat baju yang berlengan panjang dan sepaha (salah satunya DUAL). Selain itu, harganya agak mahal. Kalau saya tunggu sampai diskon besar, pilihannya semakin sedikit. Untuk membeli baju yang murah, saya disarankan mencari baju di pasar, tapi saya malas ke pasar dan kalau terlalu murah kualitasnya kurang bagus. Maunya banyak ya, hahahaha.

Oleh karena itu, belakangan ini saya sering membeli kain dan pergi ke penjahit untuk membuat baju sesuai keinginan saya. Baju pertama yang saya buat sebenarnya untuk keperluan cosplay (meniru tokoh fiksi), lalu saya membuat baju-baju lain untuk keperluan sehari-hari. Sebagai orang yang buta soal jahit-menjahit, semula saya bahkan tidak tahu nama kain dan sebanyak apa kain yang saya perlukan. Jadi saya pikir, karena sekarang saya tahu sedikit, ada baiknya saya tulis pengetahuan saya untuk membantu orang lain yang ingin membeli kain dan membuat baju sendiri (di penjahit) untuk pertama kali. Sebelum itu, saya berterima kasih banyak kepada teman-teman yang meladeni pertanyaan-pertanyaan saya sewaktu masih buta dulu.

Sedikit demi sedikit, lama-lama menjadi bukit ^^;

Banyak di antaranya cuma perca, tapi tetap saya simpan

Kantor saya di dekat Pasar Tanah Abang, tapi saya pernah hampir kecopetan di sekitar situ dan saya tidak gesit saat berbelanja. Maka saya memutuskan jalan terbaik adalah membeli kain di toko online. Saya membaca artikel tulisan teman saya tentang belanja kain katun online, artikelnya tentang kain linen dan katun impor, dan beberapa sumber lain tentang jenis-jenis kain. Ibu saya menyarankan agar saya membeli katun jepang. Pertimbangannya: warna katun jepang lebih bagus daripada katun lokal dan harga katun jepang lebih murah daripada katun impor. Petualangan saya pun dimulai dengan katun jepang.

Di artikel ini saya akan menjelaskan sedikit-sedikit tentang
- panjang kain yang diperlukan untuk membuat baju,
- jenis-jenis kain yang cocok untuk membuat baju,
- rekomendasi toko online.