Quilling

What is QUILLING?

Quilling is a form of art that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. (wikipedia.com)

Here's a simple instruction of how to quil:

1. Take a strip of paper

2. Roll it

3. Glued

4. Shape it

5. Create decorative (?) designs 

That last bit of instruction, as you may notice is from the definition in wikipedia. I think the definition is very simple, especially the last bit which is "glued together to create decorative designs", honestly, made me laugh so hard. Not because it's funny, but because that last bit which sounds like the most simple part, is actually the hardest!

I took an interest in quilling when I saw a book of quilling in a bookstore. I just randomly open the book and think that it looks cool. Then, I bought some strips of paper and start quilling the very next day. FYI, I didn't buy the book, I just read through some pages. 

Well, this needed more time than I thought it would be. 

• First, the rolling part need some time and some trial along with some errors for me to get used to it. Well, maybe because I didn't use a quilling needle (some kind of tool to make you roll your strip of paper easier). 
• Second, the gluing part is especially disastrous. See the picture? That little space need just a bit of glue which will stick it forever. But 'a bit' is not sticky enough! So I put more (apparently a mistake), which lead to my description of 'disastrous' gluing part. Through a 'don't wanna lose' feeling (yea...I feel like a loser if I can't glue those little roles I made with so much effort!), I found out that it's easier to use a double tape (it's cheap, but don't use cheap brand cos it won't stick properly. Well, glue is cheaper but it won't be easier. Need extreme control or super small tip or experience). 
• Third, the shaping part is not that hard. Just a bit of pushing in certain areas. And some googling along with streaming. So many shapes to try! This is the most exciting part!
• Lastly, the part where you design your own stuffs. For some, it is the easiest part. For others, it is the hardest part. I belong to the second group. This designing stuffs is the hardest one for me. When I did a project, I keep rearranging the quilled paper. To make it easier, I usually design some kind of pattern or picture on a piece of paper before starting a project. However, the project will almost always look different from my initial drawing on the paper. I cannot make up my mind of how it should look like in the end. Hence, the hardest part for me.

This quilling is so time consuming. So, it is a great activity to pass time without knowing. I was so into it that I forgot to eat dinner. By the time I felt hungry, it was already 9:00 p.m. 

Jesie S.

Medan, Sat, 1 August 2015.

p.s. In the picture, I didn't use double tape to stick the paper. Instead, I use a small tip clear glue. I ran out of double  tape when I took that picture, so....bear with me, people.

The REAL Meaning of Minal Aidin wal Faizin

Indonesia, with 13.1% of world Muslims resided in, has 87.2% of its total population holding Islam as their religion. This is the country I live in. So even though I am not a Muslim, I celebrate Eid al-Fitr (one of Islam major holidays) quite a lot. *cough* celebrate here refers to the number of shops I visit cos they're having sale, and a number of times I said or texted 'Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri' to my Muslim friends *cough*

Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri
Minal Aidin wal Faizin
Mohon maaf lahir dan batin

These are the standard lines people tell each other when it's Eid al-Fitr.
The first line is basically like saying Happy Birthday or Happy New Year or Happy Chinese New Year. In this case it is Happy Eid al-Fitr.
The third line is apologising physical and emotional wrongdoings.
The second line (this is my main point, so I mention this line lastly) is the only line which is not in indonesian. I thought that line essentially means 'mohon maaf lahir dan batin' (forgive my physical and emotional wrongdoings') because these two lines are often used in conjuction (minal aidin wal faizin, mohon maaf lahir dan batin). However, it is not of the same meaning. In fact, the meaning of that second line is very different from the third line.

Minal Aidin wal Faizin is a sentence which might come from arabic since each word has their own meaning in arabic language.

• min = part of
• al-aidin = people who return/come back
• wa = and
• al-faizin = win

It literally means....part of people who return and win.
Return here refers to return from the ramadan's struggle (ramadan's struggle = fasting period)
Thus, in a full sentence (in an attempt to translate minal aidin wal faizin to english) : "May you be part of the people who return with victory from the struggle of ramadan."
However, other sources interpret this phrase differently though not that far off from the above interpretation. They refer return as return to God (not 'rest in peace', but 'back to God's way') or return to purity. Thus, interpreting it as "May you be part of the people who return to purity and return with victory from the struggle of ramadan." Another loose translation I found is "May you be part of the people who return to purity and part of the people who are granted glory."

There are many interpretations, however the point is obvious. None of them come near to apologising. So I can take a conclusion that even though minal aidin wal faizin and mohon maaf lahir dan batin are two phrases commonly used in conjunction, they are definitely not come close to each other. I mean, they don't even complement each other like phone and charger or car and petrol.

Jesie S.

Medan, Fri, 18 July 2015.

p.s. While I browse minal aidin wal faizin, I found so many spelling on the words in that line. Some said aizin, others said aidzin; some said faidzin, others said faidin. There are even articles which used them interchangeably. I use aidin and faizin because there is one article which describe which and why it is the correct way to spell them. 

p.p.s. While browsing through many articles for my references, I also came across very similar articles. I don't know whether the author is the same person or not. One is from blogspot, the other is from wordpress. Maybe they use the same source. So the article came out very similar. Or they just wanna share an article, so they just copy-paste that particular article. Well, the titles are similar... so maybe just sharing from the same source.


References:

Quote on Eid al-Fitr

I saw these lines yesterday when I was browsing about Eid al-Fitr. Too bad, I cannot find the author or writer or where these lines are originated from.

Let's write all the mistakes down in the sand
And let the wind of forgiveness erase it away
Happy Idul Fitri, Minal 'Aidin wal-Faizin 

I would like to share this with you. You know, in a Eid al-Fitr (Idul Fitri - Indonesian way to refer to Eid al-Fitr) celebratory spirit.
Let's just ignore the grammatical errors because I do that a lot too. I will just write some lines in regards to the content of those lines.

Dear author of those lines,
When you write down mistakes on the sand,
it is the water job to erase them away
(or sea water if what you mean by sand is the one at the beach).
Sincerely, the wind.

Wait for it.... YES! There's a reply!

Dear the stupid wind above,
It's not writing on the sand, it's called writing IN the sand.
Furthermore, the sand there does not necessarily mean wet sand.
It's obvious wind can blow away dry sand.
Sincerely, the kinda bitchy and most certainly clever wind.

Is it a good laugh for you? It certainly is, for me. LOL.

Well, me with my not-so-professional grammar, have no idea which one is the correct one. Is it 'writing in the sand' or 'writing on the sand'? I try to google it and I think 'writing in the sand' is the correct one....(still not so sure) because there is a book (Writing in the Sand: Jesus & the Soul of the Gospels by Thomas Moore) and a song (Writing in the Sand by Theocracy) with that title.

Hmm. I'll use 'writing in the sand' instead of 'writing on the sand'. I mean, it is not possible to write on the sand, right? When you try to write with sand as your 'paper', it'll need to sink in to form a word. If it doesn't sink, in this case, a hard (?) sand, then there won't be a word formed....UNLESS you use marker or paint or whatever that you use to write something. Well, then I guess 'writing on the sand' works just fine too.

Jesie S.

Medan, Fri, 17 July 2015.

Pancasila, Genius Foundation of a Country Called Indonesia

Pancasila is an ideology uphold by Indonesia, a country where Bali is located. I know that most people know Bali, but don't know Indonesia. In fact, one of my foreign [citizens outside of Indonesia] friend, S, thought that Indonesia is located in Bali.. Dude.., it's the other way round. Bali is located in Indonesia.

It came from Sanskrit words, panca meaning five, and sila meaning principles. So, Pancasila literally means five principles. Yup. It is literally five inseparable and interrelated principles, which are:

1. Belief in the One and Only God (Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa).
2. Just and civilized humanity (Kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab).
3. The unity of Indonesia (Persatuan Indonesia).
4. Democratic life led by wisdom of thought in deliberation amongst representatives of the people (Kerakyatan yang dipimpin oleh hikmat kebijaksanaan dalam permusyawaratan dan perwakilan).
5. Social justice for all the people of Indonesia (Keadilan sosial bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia).

Person who came up with these principles is a GENIUS! I mean, Indonesia is the only country with literally five points of philosophical foundation! The original idea is from Prof. Mr. Muhammad Yamin, S. H., a national hero of Indonesia and Ir. Soekarno, Indonesia's first president, also a national hero of Indonesia. Then with several meetings, that particular idea was rearrange, reform, whatever the words, bla bla bloody bloody bla, to this five awesome principles, Pancasila.

Well, I would say that I have no hard feeling whatsoever for these five principles, EXCEPT the first principle. Belief in One and Only God. Others translated it to 'Belief in One Supreme God', 'Belief in One Almighty God', basically there is only one God that your can recognized. He is above all.
Isn't it sad for people who are atheist? They don't belief in God, so they're not Indonesian? How about animism that is practically an essential part in Indonesia multicultural identity?

I know. I am so indecisive. First I said Pancasila is genius, awesome, and other compliments which are practically overflowing, then I said I have a bit of a hard feeling towards the first principle of Pancasila. Well, that's what life is about. I n d e c i s i v e n e s s.

Another thing about Pancasila is that I thought everyone is supposed to know Pancasila. Or at the very least they have learned it before, when they were young. Underline the past there. I THOUGHT. I mean, not in other countries, but in Indonesia. My friend, S (different from the above mentioned S), who went to international school in Indonesia, (Banten, Tangerang to be exact), told me that she has never learned about Pancasila at her school. Hell, she does not even know about Samudra Pasai kingdom (first Islam kingdom in Indonesia) or any other kingdoms in Indonesia. She knows Pearl Harbour incident though....which I did not know until the movie came out.

Funny, isn't it? She studied world history. I studied Indonesian history. The only world history which I remember is about Hitler...

Jesie S.

Medan, Wed, 13 May 2015.


References:

Meeting People

Here's what M said about me.

When people just meet new people, they're not very excited, they will have moderate mood.
You, on the other hand, is like, KYAAAA I WANNA BE FRIENDS WITH ANYONE mood.

I was...like..uhhh....okay....

Hmm..I thought meeting new people, meeting new friends, is supposed to be exciting stuffs. Something to be happy about. 

I love meeting people! No matter old or new, known or unknown. Although maybe this quote does not really apply to me. I mean, why would anyone feel difficult to introduce themselves to me? Haha. But then again, every time I introduce myself to someone, it is indeed kinda difficult. Of course, it is a different matter if you are introduced by your friend or someone you know before to someone new. Try to introduce yourself to someone who is a complete stranger. There's a thrill in it. (Well, at least it is thrilling for me).

Jesie S.
Medan, Tue, 12 May 2015.