what's in my pencil case?

People might wondering.. what a stationery blogger has in his/her pencil case? Well.. stationery, of course.. haha :D Sure do. But the choices are sometime enormuous. So let me show you my stationery lineup.

First of all, THE pencil case. I used to have smaller pencil case (trousse) of LeSportsac.. but after some time, I think it's time to change a bit. Now I have a bigger pouch, which supposed to be a makeup pouch.. You know I never wear makeup everyday, so I re-purpose it as a pencil case. Nice.

Inside the pouch, there's a pocket on one side and two smaller pockets on the other side. I use them to store the usb flashdisks (one of them is OTG) and pencil leads.

I have several multicolour pens. Two of them are Bics, a pink Uniball Jetstream, a pink Pilot Frixion, and a blue Zebra pen. The Uniball and Zebra also has mechanical pen. There's also a pink Kurutoga pencil which mechanism makes the lead to stay sharp. I must admit, I haven't tried the Kurutoga for everyday note taking.

Several markers with each different needle point; from 0.1 to 0.5 and a calligraphy marker can also be found in my pencil case.

Other things are Boxy eraser, a whiteout (correction pen), Miffy mini ruler, a couple of highlighters, a Sakura Ballsign, a deep pink Stabilo 2in1 marker, a mini brush for water colour, a blue Faber-Castell permanent marker and  a couple of black Standard ballpoints.

Surprisingly, there's a tube of handcream in my pencil case. Should take it out. Oh, and a mini sewing kit in a mini green tube.

Well, now you know what's in my pencil case. How about yours? What do you have in your pencil case?

early hobonochi for 2015

For the upcoming year of 2015, I have prepared myself with the latest Hobonichi techo. Together with my sister and my colleague at work, we ordered 3 sets of planner.. with its cover and some other tidbits (templates, frixions and pencil board). As for me, I went crazy to get the supplementary weekly note, and address book as well. Not to mentions the card sleeve as well. It has arrived couple weeks ago, but I just have a chance to tell you about it now.

If you want to get ready with your 2015 hobonichi techo, please check their website :)

http://www.1101.com/store/techo/2015/planner/

pilot frixion

Couple of days ago, I was thinking to buy Pilot Frixion pens from a japanese website. My main reason was because I haven't yet find the fine tip ones here. But I was wrong. This afternoon I went to Toko Gunung Agung near Tugu Tani and I bought some of them.

There are several types of frixions available in this store. Those with the cap or clickable (knock pen). There are also different types of tip (needle point). The 0.38 point, 0.5 point and 0.7 point. There are also clickable 3-color pen with available color (of the barrel) of black, dark blue and sharp pink. I bought the pink one ;)

These pens are erasable so they're perfect for hoboniching or journaling. It's easy to erase the ink using special frixion eraser on top of the pen. Normal eraser can erase it as well, but it needs like 10 times the effort.

Am really excited with these pens. They're just sooo cooool...

what is washi?

​A small talk with my friend Rita about labels on my previous post, went long in to washi tape. So I thought I should post about washi tape on this blog. (English translation is after the Bahasa Indonesia)

Washi tape adalah selotip / isolasi bercorak. Sebutan "washi" sebenarnya merujuk pada material atau bahan selotip tersebut yang terbuat dari kertas tipis khas Jepang. Lama2, semua isolasi / selotip yang bercorak disebut washi tape juga.

Selain -tentunya- sebagai perekat / selotip, washi tape dapat berfungsi untuk menutup coretan atau tulisan yang salah di buku catatan harian (diary). Penggunaan untuk diary ini umumnya untuk filofax dan hobonichi Selain itu, fungsi washi tape adalah untuk dekorasi. Artikel di buzzfeed tentang washi tape untuk dekorasi ini bisa untuk ide. Contohnya, bagian belakang henpon yg polos bisa ditempel washi sehingga ada coraknya. Pensil atau bolpen yang polos, atau warnanya jelek, bisa dililit pakai washi jadi ada corak ceria.

Di Jakarta, washi tape bisa ditemukan di beberapa toko pernak pernik unik seperti Scoop atau toko khusus craft / kerajinan tangan / scrap book dll. Di toko buku besar seperti Gramedia dan Gunung Agung, juga ada washi tape Expressions dari Scotch 3M (seperti pada gambar di blogpost ini). Sementara washi mt masking tape dari Jepang dijual di gudily Cilandak Timur, Jakarta.​

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Washi tape is decorative tape which can be used to decorate (almost) anything you have. The word washi is actually refering to a special (thin but strong) Japanese paper. However, these days, many decorative tape are addressed as washi tape as well. You can paste it in your diary, to cover hideous color of your mobile phone, or you can use it just to accentuate your laptop or the border of your desk. There's an article in buzzfeed about how to use washi tape for decoration. The use for diary is common among hobonichi and filofax user. 

In Jakarta, washi tape can be found in special shop for craft and hobby such as Scoop. In major bookstore like Gramedia and Gunung Agung, washi tape Expressions from Scotch 3M (like pictured above) are mostly found. However, washi mt masking tape from Japan is sold in gudily, Cilandak Timur, Jakarta.

filofax fusion A5 blue

Yippppeeeyyy !!!

Finally I've got a filofax. The blue Fusion A5. First one in my life, one of my wishlist for this year :D

Before I started this blog, I used to think that all planners are just the same.. and even some of them are overpriced. But then, I got dragged into this 'dangerous' world of stationery after I blogwalked for quite some time. I begin to find reasons for buying stationery. Besides, I never splurge my cash on fashion, jewelry or makeup.. soo.. why not stationery ?!

I took my chance when I saw this filofax on ebay. This is the right one for me. The colour (dark blue), the material (fabric, not fancy leather), the size (A5 has the most flexible inserts) and lots of pockets inside and outside the cover. It's in new condition and I bought it slightly cheaper than in its official site. Still, it's bloody super expensive for me.

Honestly, I wasn't really impressed with the inserts. They look dead simple with old fashioned font and layout. Perhaps that's why people hack the inserts to the max. Is there any people out there who replaced those inserts from the fist time  with customized one?

So far, I already have my hobonichi for my day-to-day diary, moleskine for schedule (appointments / meetings).. although a bit abandoned, and I intended to use the study planner for academic related stuff. What should I do with this filofax of my dream? I may use it for lecture notes. But on a second thought, I will use my old file note for campus thingy. The reason is, the 20 ring-hole A5 loose leaf doesn't fit the 6 rings of filofax. This is a bummer. I have to make cuts on the loose leaf to adjust the hole and the ring.

Anyway, I will use this fancy filofax. It would be my "magic book" to store household related thingy.. phone numbers, websites' username and password hints, addresses, household budget, family health records (allergies, medication, prescription, etc.), recipes, infos about food delivery services, etc. Well, a kakebo if I may say. For the inserts, I will make a customization of my own. Oh, and Bantex has A5 plastic pocket, which holes match the 6-ring planner. I will try to find if they have the zipper version or business card pockets. That would be perfect to store addresses.

I will share my filofax setting later. See ya around..

label

School days will be soon begin. My friend Rita in France recently shared about name labels / stickers she just ordered for her son. She said the teacher asked every single objects (from lunchbox to jackets) must be labelled for easy identification in school. I personally agree, especially in kindergarten and early primary school. Well, not only in school.. At the office, ballpoint pen is the most perishable object, competing with stapler and scissors.

So, yes.. I also label my stationery and lunchbox. I used to order some mini stickers in toys store.. but after a while, they just disappear and I don't know where else to go. Fear no more. Rita told me about some websites where we can order various labels, namely LudiLabel, A-qui-S (in french) or Mine4Sure (in English) and C-MonEtiquette.

All of those sites offer free shipping for France and the rest of the world !! Yaaaayyy.. !! This site also have some packs for school, office, etc. So you don't have to calculate how many set of stickers you need for jacket, lunchbox, shoes, books, etc. Well, I guess I will order one or two packs for myself ;)

Aladdin Crave water bottle

This is Aladdin Crave water bottle. Like it cos it's purple. Like it cos it has a glass on top of it. 

Perfect size, 500 ml.. so it won't be too bulky nor too small.
The bottle is leak-proof even if it filled with soda / carbonated water.

I bought it in Ace Hardware, much lower price than one in Metro Dept Store.

This product is listed on the European Aladdin's Catalogue 2014 in pdf format,
but strangely not found on its website.

panmomo part deux

Libur lebaran kemarin, jadi keseringan browsing stationery. Ujung2nya, order belanja di Panmomo lagi deh. Soalnya, setelah dibandingin dengan beberapa toko online lainnya, Panmomo ini yang paling gampang cara pesennya (semua ada di website), gak perlu daftar2 bikin akun, bayarnya pun gampang (bank transfer) dan harganya kompetitif (alias lebih murah) dibanding toko lainnya.

Kali ini, barang2 yang saya beli adalah : 1 set sticker Pony Girl,  3 bookmark girly series, semester (half-year) study planner dan 2 Cookie Girl sticky notes. Total semuanya 100 ribuan udah termasuk ongkos kirim (via JNE).

Jadi, kalo ada teman atau kerabat yang ultah.. coba deh cari2 inspirasi kado di Panmomo. Eh, ada paket bundle (beberapa item barang sepaket) juga loh.. Harganya jadi lebih hemat dibanding beli satuan.

*this review is based on personal opinion and not paid by any kind of brand / company*

bibliothèque csis

Semua anak FISIP mustinya tau perpustakaan CSIS. At least pernah sekali dalam hidupnya datang ke perpustakaan ini. Saya beberapa kali ke tempat ini tahun 1998, gara-gara ambil mata kuliah perbandingan  politik yang ternyata bikin pusing.

I was so impressed with the library. Massive collection of quality books, cozy atmosphere, home-like surrounding, a mini garden overlooked from the reading room.. it's just perfect. I dream about having a reading room like that.

But it's all different now. The library is now located in a tall building called Pakarti Center. It feels very much like an office instead of home. The collection which can be accessed is very limited. They keep the vast collection for internal use only. 

Tapi tetep aja -sampe sekarang- pengen punya perpustakaan seperti CSIS jaman dulu itu.

la rentrée..

New semester is coming up. C'est la rentrée !! Just like school kids, am also exciting for back to school moments. But as a lecturer, I gotta be ready with lesson plans, syllabus, books / references, academic counseling.. ouuff sounds heavy already.

Aside from those serious things, stationery is a fail-safe therapy for me. So be ready for some stationery related stuff I'm gonna share this semester. See ya around..

study planner

Beberapa bulan yang lalu, saya membeli study planner "hello coco" dari ebay. Saking bagusnya, langsung disimpen dan sayang dipakai.. buat dikoleksi aja. Padahal study planner mustinya berguna buat mencatat kegiatan akademik. Jadwal sekolah / kuliah, jadwal les / kursus, deadline pengumpulan tugas, step-by-step pengerjaan school project, logbook riset / penelitian, target nilai dalam satu semester, nilai ulangan / kuis / tugas / ujian, dll.

Baru-baru ini, saya kembali membeli study planner. Kali ini Semester Study Planner (untuk 6 bulan) versi China, merk Lenwa.. beli di Panmomo. Murmer dan kualitasnya lumayan bagus.. tapi banyak typo alias salah ketik. Misalnya "score graph" dicetaknya "scote graph".. pffftt.. Ditimpa washi tape aja 'kali ya.. Anyway, harganya 35ribu. Kalo yang ini, kayaknya bakal diuji-coba buat semester gasal besok. 

Study planner sebenernya pernah saya kenal waktu saya sekolah dulu dengan sebutan Agenda Sekolah. Tapi agenda sekolah jaman saya dulu bentuknya lebih sederhana.. mirip pocket diary yang isinya sekedar catatan jadwal pelajaran dan pengingat tugas atau ujian. Sedangkan study planner ini didesain untuk 1 semester alias 6 bulan. Pembabakan layout dibuat setiap bulan. Jadi, dalam 1 bulan ada monthly plan, weekly plan untuk 5 minggu berbentuk baris checklist, pie chart weekly plan, 32 kotak kecil untuk ringkasan weekly plan, dan 1 halaman ringkasan bulan.

 

Di bagian awal, ada halaman half yearly plan yang bisa dimanfaatkan sebagai timeline atau scheduling suatu project. Halaman selanjutnya adalah jadwal kegiatan (time table). Sayangnya cuma ada 1 halaman.. berarti jadwal kuliah / sekolah musti jadi satu dengan jadwal les, ekskul, dll. Ada bagusnya juga sih.. jadi bakal langsung tau kalo ada yang waktunya bentrok. Di halaman sebelahnya, ada 21 day habit project. Hnnggg.. ini maksudnya apa sih ?!! Well, nampaknya ini buat checklist perbuatan baik yang harus dilakukan. Kalo udah dilakukan selama 21 hari, maka akan jadi kebiasaan. Gitu 'kali... 

Di halaman selanjutnya ada 6 lingkaran untuk weekday plan. Masing-masing lingkaran terbagi 2 untuk am (00.01 sampai 12 siang) dan pm (12.01 sampai 24.00). Setiap lingkaran mewakili 1 hari penuh. Tapi mungkin karena ada 6, jadi setiap lingkarannya untuk masing-masing bulan?

Setelah itu, ada bagian self improvement seperti motto hidup, role model, cita2, rencana jangka pendek dan jangka panjang.

Bagian selanjutnya terbagi dalam 6 bulan. Masing-masing bulan, isi dan layoutnya sama.. seperti pada Momoi diary. Untuk layoutnya, planner ini memberi lebih banyak ruang untuk catatan harian. Jadi, detil tugas dan PR bisa dicatat sekalian. Bagian awal adalah monthly plan berbentuk tabel kolom kotak2 dalam 2 halaman. Selanjutnya adalah weekly plan dengan kolom bergaris sehingga bisa dipakai untuk checklist. Di akhir setiap bulannya, terdapat lembar ringkasan untuk capaian akademis.

Di bagian akhir agenda (setelah 6 bulan) ada bagian untuk mencatat jadwal ulangan / kuis / ujian. Ada juga score graph dan catatan seluruh nilai yang diperoleh. Dengan demikian, kita bisa terpacu untuk belajar lebih giat.

Menurut saya, agenda ini pas banget buat pelajar / mahasiswa yang ingin meningkatkan nilainya. Atau mereka yang ingin kehidupan akademisnya lebih terorganisir.

Bento&Co.

My main reason to order from Bento&Co was the Kaoiro stamp. Kaoiro is a rolling stamp for face expression we use for texting. For example (-_-") or (>_<) and many possibilities we can make from different combination. Actually, we can also find the stamp on the official gung website.. but Bento&Co offers free shipping for order more than 50 USD. So I take this chance to buy some other stuff ;)

Apart from Kaoiro stamp, I also bought mini washi tapes (in lot of four), deco rush (in set of three), a yellow onigiri box and Totoro utensil set (chopsticks and spoon). All of them finally exceed 50 USD.. so the shipping cost was free.

The shipment was quick. It was just a couple of weeks to arrive safely in my place. Really can't wait to try the stamp. I'll review and share about it later when I have time. \(^_^)/

back to school shopping

Some people might put a great deal to shop for dresses, other for make-up, or... school stuff !! It seems that Back-to-School shopping in United States is a major event. We can learn it from the infographic below, which I found from an article of Back-to-School shopping on MarketingProfs by Ayaz Nanji.

Photo source : http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/25803/back-to-school-shopping-trends-infographic

However, I didn't see any stationery (you know, notebooks, pen, pencil and the like) on the top list. For me, stationery shopping is my top priority for Back-to-School shopping. Err.. no more budget for the moment. Will wait for the last minute anyway ;)

karaku stamp

About 10 days ago, I ordered two rubber stamps from Etsy. They've landed safely in my place this afternoon, sent by registered post. The name of the shop is Karaku, and the owner, Mayumi, is a very nice fellow. She sent a card and a packet of tissue paper (Hello Kitty) together with the package :)

These stamps would be very useful for the upcoming semester. I can use the timetable stamp to help my students in planning their schedule, as they have made appointment with me for academic counseling next week. Just stamp it on a piece of paper (or card) and fill the column with classes they plan to take. I can also stamp it on my agenda as well.

The other stamp is in a shape of a round clock. This would be useful for keeping track how many hours I have spent for particular work or activity. Since it has no number whatsoever, we could use it for other things. For instance, time management, shares or portions, pie chart, etc.

mini mate diary

Here comes a short review about Mini Mate diary I've just bought recently. I paid about 39k in Gramedia Kids Citra Gran. If we use it fully, for one year, I think the price is quite reasonable. 

The size of this diary is 10,5 cm x 14 cm. Hard cover with a bit textured doff finishing. The layout is very simple. There is no yearly plan, no monthly plan, and just straight to weekly plan. There are 7 areas for each day of the week in 2 pages spread. There's a box at the beginning of the week for checklist. There are 56 weeks in total, so it should be enough for one whole year. That's it. Oh, there are free notes section after those weekly plan. There are lined pages and blank pages, but same heading. It is intended to write down reviews (music, movies, travel, food, etc.), mood, feeling, emotion, or anything we want. There are 56 lined pages and 56 blank pages. So it's roughly 2 pages per week.. like, say, story of your weekend.

What I like about this agenda is the personal identification sheet. Instead of words only, there's a cute girl with speech bubble. And you can attach your photo on the next page.

So if you want to start this new school year with something cute, this might be it.

washi scoop

A week before aïd, I hardly ever stepped my feet at the mall. Just fed up with the crowd who shop for things, while I just watching cos I had no money. But it was payday few days later. And going to a mall seems so dangerous. I really can't resist the temptation of colourful washi tapes. So, these are some washi I bought in Scoop Citra Gran Cibubur.

Beside those decoration tapes, I also bought a couple of empty plastic bottles (buy one - get one free) for 10k and a cute plastic card case for 9k. All of them (including 9 washi) cost me 179k.. Fair enough.. that means about 17k for each washi in average.

I'm not a huge fan of washi tapes --well, not yet, I guess. So I think these tapes are quite good and reasonably priced. Those kinda tapes I saw online -and mostly sold via instagram- were beyond my budget. So these tapes on Scoop is definetely the best option for me.

measurement

Some of us are still wondering.. what's the difference between A5 and B5 size for paper or notebook. What is the size of a pocket note? The page inside a notebook are varies. What about the paper? Well some of them are blank, lined, or grid.. that might also confusing.

No worries.. I've found this explanation about notebooks from Jetpens.com
The article explains everything about notebook : paper size, sheet style, line spacing, cover material, paper weight, binding, number of sheet and perforation. Wooow... such an enlightenment.
One thing for sure, now you know exactly what to look for on the bookstore.

picture taken from http://static1.jetpens.com/images/a/000/061/61288.jpg

late post scoop

This is should've been posted couple months ago. Pheeww.. time flies.. Bought these things in Scoop Kota Kasablanka. There are :

• a box of korean mini stamps for diary / journaling --about 120k.. not cheap, but very good quality and the design is quite alright
• 3 sticks of round stamps --about 20k each. I have tried them but it's not really good to apply on the agenda or hobonichi
• 3 different kinds of cash book --only about 15k each

garlic bread

Honestly, I don't like whole wheat bread. I prefer white bread. But I must get use to eat whole wheat bread for health concern. So I packed them on my lunchbox, with peanut butter and jam or butter and chocolate sprinkles, or any spread.. I could never finish one.

One day my mum told me to make a garlic bread instead. Here goes the trick. Spread the bread with margarine (or butter if you like), sprinkle with ground pepper and garlic powder. Then put it in the oven for 5-10 minutes, medium heat, and ready to eat.

The salty umami seasoning from garlic and pepper has infused into the bread, make it easier to taste. If you like a whole meal to pack into the lunchbox, add some tuna spread and coleslaw. That would be perfect company. And I guess this time I could finish my lunch.

oshibori

Oshibori adalah handuk kecil yang lembab untuk lap tangan (dan wajah). Disebut juga hot towel atau cold towel karena oshibori ini bisa berupa handuk hangat ataupun handuk dingin. Biasanya handuk dingin diberikan saat cuaca panas. Selain terdapat di restoran, orang Jepang juga sering membawa oshibori ini bersama dengan bento atau lunchbox mereka.

Menurut saya, oshibori ini sangat menyegarkan untuk lap muka. Cara menyiapkannya pun mudah. Basahi handuk muka (maksimal sekitar 20cm x 20cm) atau saputangan tebal dengan air, lalu peras hingga air tidak lagi menetes. Gulung dan masukkan ke dalam wadah plastik kecil (tertutup) lalu simpan di dalam kulkas. Saya menyimpannya di kulkas rumah dan kantor. Saat tiba di rumah atau kantor, oshibori ini langsung dapat digunakan untuk lap tangan atau menyegarkan muka. Jangan lupa segera cuci, peras, dan masukkan kembali ke wadahnya.

Apabila ingin dibawa kemana-mana, oshibori dapat disimpan di wadah plastik yang kecil, lalu bawa dengan blue ice di sekitar wadahnya. Jika ingin oshibori hangat, tidak perlu membawa es karena cuaca di Indonesia sangat panas; dan pada akhirnya oshibori tersebut menjadi hangat seperti keluar dari pengukus.

persiapan kuliah

Di saat menjelang lebaran orang lain beli baju dan sepatu, saya memilih untuk berhemat.. biar bisa beli alat tulis untuk semester besok. Semester gasal akan mulai 1 September. Bagi saya, alat tulis yang baru akan membuat semangat belajar dan rajin mencatat. Well, at least untuk beberapa pekan pertama hahaha :D

Saya sering perhatikan, ada mahasiswa yang rapih mencatat di file notes, ada yang hanya mendengarkan kuliah (tanpa mencatat), ada pula yang pura2 mencatat padahal sedang mengkopi tugas dari temannya. Ada lagi mahasiswa yang hanya modal bolpoin; nanti di kelas minta kertas loose leaf dari temannya, atau bersyukur jika dosen membagikan hand-out kuliah sehingga langsung mencatat di kertas tsb.

Perlengkapan yang sebaiknya disiapkan untuk kuliah antara lain adalah :

- Binder / Ordner / Lever Arch File

Gunanya untuk menyimpan hand-out kuliah. Sebagian dosen membagikan via email, atau menitipkan masternya di tempat fotokopi. Ada baiknya kita segera mencetak / print handout dari email atau memfotokopi setelah selesai kuliah di hari yang sama. Jangan tunggu besok, pasti lupa. Mahasiswa selalu beralasan, download dari email saja lalu baca di tablet. Oke.. terserah saja, asal benar-benar disimpan per folder untuk mata kuliah yang berbeda. Namun jika ada yang bentuk soft copy dan hard copy, mending diseragamkan hard copy (tercetak) saja. Biar lebih gampang nanti belajarnya saat menjelang ujian. Ordner ini terdapat bermacam-macam ukuran. Umumnya yang dikenal baik kualitasnya adalah merek Bantex atau Bambi. 

- File note A5 atau B5 dan Loose Leaf

Tipe yang banyak di pasaran adalah yang versi besar yaitu B5 dengan ukuran 176mm x 250mm, nggak jauh beda dengan ukuran buku boxy. Tipe kedua adalah versi kecil seukuran buku tulis, yaitu A5 (setengahnya A4) atau 148mm x 210mm. Jangan lupa sekalian siapkan loose leaf (kertas untuk isi file note). Perhatikan ukuran kertas, sesuaikan dengan ukuran file. Kini Paperline mengeluarkan loose leaf dengan warna-warna pastel kuning muda, biru muda, hijau tosca dan pink pastel; sehingga kita juga bisa menggunakan untuk mata kuliah yang berbeda. Saat saya kuliah dulu, saya suka dengan buku boxy dan juga menggunakan file B5. Pada masa itu (antara 1996-2000), ukuran A5 jarang ada kertas loose leaf-nya. Kalaupun ada, merek Maruman atau Kokuyo yang mahalnya selangit.. maklum, jaman krisis moneter. Tapi sekarang setalah loose leaf lokal ukuran A5 semakin banyak, saya pilih file ukuran A5 karena tidak memakan tempat. Kalau ada kertas penting berukuran A4 yang harus disimpan, tinggal dilipat 2, lalu masuk disisipkan di file.

- Bolpoin 

Bolpoin adalah satu benda yang paling cepat raib. Beri label nama di badan bolpoin, agar segera diketahui saat ada yang meminjam atau tercecer. Saya menyarankan bolpoin yang murah meriah saja, seperti Bic Cristal ukuran medium (untuk tulisan tebal), Pilot BPT-P atau Standard AE7 untuk tulisan tipis. Untuk amannya, pilih tinta warna biru dan hitam. (update: Bolpoin Bic Cristal saat ini sulit ditemukan di Indonesia. Sebagai gantinya, bisa pakai Bic 4-Color dengan ukuran medium)

- Highlighter

Kebanyakan orang menyebutnya stabilo. Padahal stabilo adalah merek. Anyway, saya sendiri jarang menggunakan highlighter.. jadi benda ini tergantung selera saja. Jenis yang terkenal adalah Stabilo Boss. 

- Correction tape / correction pen / correction fluid

Orang-orang banyak menyebutnya tip-eks. Padahal, sebutan ini berasal dari suatu cairan penghapus bermerek Tipp-Ex. Untuk correction tape, merek yang dikenal antara lain Joyko atau Faber-Castell dengan berbagai variasi bentuk. Jika membelinya di toko buku besar seperti Gramedia atau Kinokuniya, AWAS !! Jangan tertukar dengan Deco Rush, yang bentuknya mirip seperti correction tape, namun pita (tape)-nya bercorak / warna warni. Sedangkan correction pen umumnya lebih praktis karena berbentuk seperti bolpoin yang agak gembung. Bentuk ini sangat praktis dan mudah disimpan dalam kotak pensil. Meskipun beberapa menyebutnya dengan correction fluid, namun istilah ini lebih tepat untuk versi yang dikemas dalam botol. Cairan penghapus dalam botol tersebut disapukan dengan kuas dan kini sudah sangat jarang keberadaannya. Tapi ternyata masih ada juga yang jual. Saya pernah lihat Tipp-Ex botolan ini di Gramedia PIM dan yang merek Re-Type di Hypermart Cibubur. Gambar di kanan atas tersebut adalah Tipp-Ex versi lama, dikutip dari website Officehub.

- Sticky notes

Sebagai pengingat sesuatu, sticky notes bisa ditempel di pintu atau sampul file note. Jika ada catatan pemahaman tentang suatu konsep, bisa ditempel di buku teks atau buku catatan. Buat saya, sticky notes ini lebih wajib ketimbang highlighter. Merek yang banyak ada di pasaran adalah 3M Post-it notes dan Pronto. Bentuknya pun bervariasi. Ada yang super besar, sampai yang mini untuk penanda halaman (page marker).

- Agenda atau Kalender Pengingat

Meskipun sekarang jarang ada mahasiswa yang terlihat menggunakan agenda, namun agenda masih penting untuk mencatat kegiatan, tugas, jadwal kuis, jadwal ujian, kelompok presentasi, dll. Bagi yang menggunakan smartphone atau tablet, sebaiknya menggunakan aplikasi Google calendar yang biasanya sudah terintegrasi dengan kalender bawaan. Catat semua jadwal dan janji di Google calendar, share dengan teman-teman, syncronise setiap saat.

Update 08/08/2016 : Please see persiapan kuliah diri sendiri for more updated version. Thank you !

diary stamps

Since I'm hoboniching, I begin to crave for rubber stamps, especially for planner or diary. From my observation, Japanese has clean and sleek diary stamps, while Korean has cute and girly stamps for diary. For Korean stamps, I stumbled upon a shop on Etsy. The owner of the shop is Mieryaw (in Shanghai) and she has tons of cute stamps and washi tapes. These are what I bought. 

super snack

Saat belajar, ada kalanya kita bosen dan pengen nyemil. Tapi cemilan yang biasanya tersedia (keripik kentang, misalnya) bukanlah makanan yang sehat. Sering kali minum kopi jadi pilihan, biar nggak ngantuk. But coffee is not the best option for our brain. Well, I have found this article about Super Food Alternatives on lifehack.org by Michael Cheng. This infographic will tell you to take these alternative snacks which may boost your brain power.

Some of those items can also be packed on lunch box, so you can always have a healthy snack on the go.

lebaran ramah anak

Lebaran sebentar lagi.. Waktunya untuk bersiap menghadapi serbuan anak-anak kecil yang datang ke rumah ortu. Ada dua hal yang harus diperhatikan. Jika itu merupakan kunjungan pertama mereka dari rangkaian silaturahmi ke rumah-rumah lain, biasanya mereka masih semangat. Lari ke sana ke mari, ceriwisnya minta ampun, minta ini itu, nanya segala macem sehingga ortunya merasa agak terganggu acaranya. Di sisi lain, jika itu adalah kunjungan mereka yang ke-sekian di hari itu, --belum lagi kena macet dalam perjalanan, kepanasan, plus capek dan ngantuk.. bisa dipastikan mereka akan rewel. Anak rewel pasti kelakuannya mantep banget : nangis sesenggukan, jerit-jerit, merajuk minta pulang, nggak mau ini itu, ditanya diem aja, cemberut, muka dilipet tuju, dan sebagainya. Sebagai tuan rumah, pasti merasa nggak enak hati juga. Mau disuruh pulang aja, takut dikira ngusir.. Mau ditahan2, si anak tambah ngeselin.. Jadi, gimana dong?

No worries.. Setiap lebaran, saya selalu siapkan pensil warna / krayon / spidol dan kertas buram di ruang tamu. Anak-anak juga suka mewarnai atau menghubungkan titik-titik menjadi gambar; jadi saya cari gambar-gambar kartun (free printables) di internet, lalu di-print dan di-fotokopi secukupnya. Saat anak-anak itu tiba, mereka bisa langsung menggambar ataupun mewarnai sesuka hati. Bisa juga ditambah permen dan biskuit yang umumnya mereka suka, misalnya Oreo dan M&Ms dalam kemasan mini. Dijamin mereka nggak rewel lagi..

Buat anak yang sudah agak besar, mereka mungkin nggak suka lagi mewarnai. Tapi saya perhatikan, mereka akan ikutan menggambar saat melihat anak-anak yang lebih kecil terlihat asyik dengan aktivitasnya. Bagi mereka, bisa aja disiapkan lembaran sudoku yang mudah atau word search. Hal ini akan melatih kreativitas dan motorik mereka. Murah, sederhana dan mujarab. Hehehehe :p

.:: Useful links for printable materials

Colouring

http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html
http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/

http://educationalcoloringpages.com/freecoloring.html

Connecting dots

http://www.coloring.ws/connect.html
http://www.coloring-page.net/activity/connect-dots.html
http://activities.raisingourkids.com/connect-dot-to-dot/
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/fun-activities-dot-to-dot-892-2-1
http://www.activitypad.com/dot-to-dot.html

Sudoku
http://www.sudokuprintables.org/sudoku-printables.html

http://www.puzzles.ca/sudoku.html
http://krazydad.com/sudoku/

Word search
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/quizzes/wordsearches.html
http://www.superwordsearchpuzzles.com/

http://www.puzzles.ca/wordsearch.html
http://www.puzzle-club.com/free-printable-word-searches-themes1.html

filo on the way

For the sake of wishlist I made in January, I just bought a Blue Filofax Fusion A5 on ebay. It's new / unused product, so I couldn't haggle for the price. Yes, it costs me a lot, but well.. I hope I can cover from my 13th salary next month. I just can't help it. This blue one is quite difficult to find. Last time I checked, it was out of stock on the Filofax UK.

Anyway, Filofax is known for its quality, so I gotta prove it myself. This model is one of the most suitable for me. I can use it everyday for taking notes and prepare my lecture. Besides, new semester is coming, I deserve something to motivate me. Pfftt.. In the meantime, I have to be patient and wait for the package to arrive. Well, perhaps in the next couple of weeks. H2C.. Harap-harap Cemas :D

momoi diary

I bought the Momoi diary from Panmomo couple days ago, and it has arrived in my place today !! Yaaay... !!! The character is soooo cute.. I like it so much. Sebenernya sih kalo cuma lucu aja, cukup masuk instagram. Tapi ternyata, bagian dalam diary Momoi ini layout-nya lumayan bagus dan berguna. Pas banget  buat catetan segala rupa. Bahkan bisa juga dipakai buat buku catatan rumah tangga. Daftar belanjaan, jadwal les, rencana jalan2, barang yang mau dibeli, uang belanja, review buku atau film favorit, dan banyak lagi.

Bagian awal dari diary ini adalah tabel "Yearly Plan". To be honest, I don't really like this part. Bukan cuma diary ini aja. Di semua agenda, umumnya ada rencana tahunan ini. Tapi gimana mau nulis di kolom yang sempit itu? Idealnya sih cuma buat kode warna, timeline atau semacam gantt chart gitu 'kali ya. Kalo diary ini dimanfaatkan sebagai buku keluarga, maka bagian ini bisa untuk catatan ulang tahun teman, kerabat, saudara sepupu, dll.

Bagian  selanjutnya adalah Monthly Plan. Seperti di agenda / planner pada umumnya, bentuknya kotak-kotak. Kita bisa isi tanggal di sudut kiri atas dari masing-masing kolom yang ada.  Kolomnya cukupan lah.. sekitar 2,5 x 2,5 cm. Kolom-kolom ini bisa diisi gambar, simbol atau keywords. Cocok buat rencana jalan2, jadwal kegiatan, rapat RT, arisan, jadwal ujian di sekolah, dll. 

Masalah bagi saya adalah, I don't like the week begins from Sunday. I prefer the first day of the week is Monday. Sedangkan di tabel itu, hari Minggu diletakkan di awal pekan. Pfft...

Setelah bagian Monthly Plan untuk 1 bulan, langsung lanjut ke Weekly Plan. Menurut saya, layout model begini ada bagusnya juga. Jadi langsung sepaket bulanan, lanjut lagi bulan berikutnya. Kebanyakan planner membuat Monthly Plan untuk 12 bulan, baru setelahnya ada Weekly Plan untuk 52-60 pekan. Untuk Weekly Plan, bentuknya seperti ini..

Bentuk bisa sekaligus buat catatan harian. Ada 7 kotak berukuran 5,5 x 7 cm. Di bagian atas masing-masing kotak tersebut ada nama hari, lalu kolom kecil untuk tanggal. Di sisi kirinya ada beberapa simbol cuaca (matahari, awan, hujan dan salju). Dibawahnya ada 3 baris kolom yang bisa digunakan untuk menulis "to-do list" atau deadline, atau appointment. Sedangkan di bawahnya ada ruang yang cukup untuk cerita apa saja yang dialami hari itu. 

Jangan lupa, di sudut kanan bawah dari setiap harinya, ada gambar kepala si Momoi (tanpa raut muka) yang disertai pertanyaan "How are you today?".. sehingga kita bisa menggambarkan mood / perasaan kita setiap hari dalam bentuk emoticon yang menarik. 

Setelah Weekly Plan sebanyak 5 pekan, bagian selanjutnya adalah "Memories". Terdapat 4 bidang, yang terbagi dalam 2 halaman, yang bisa digunakan untuk curhat, mencatat pengalaman wisata ataupun review film, buku dan restoran. Ukuran masing-masing bidang itu adalah 10 x 6 cm bergaris, ada 10 baris. Yaah.. nggak bisa terlalu panjang juga sih ceritanya ;)

Ada lagi 1 halaman untuk checklist kegiatan, keinginan, reminder bayar tagihan, jadwal vaksinasi atau ke dokter gigi, dan lain sebagainya. Di sebelahnya, ada tabel "Monthly Cash" untuk mencatat arus kas, pendapatan dan pengeluaran kita. Totalnya ada 50 baris yang terbagi di 2 halaman (1 lembar bolak balik), mudah2an cukup untuk mencatat keuangan keluarga, hutang-piutang, cicilan, dll. Terakhir adalah halaman kotak kecil-kecil (grid pattern) seperti buku matematika, untuk catatan bebas. 

Total seluruhnya ada 14 bulan yang masing-masing terdiri dari 1 Monthly Plan, 5 set Weekly Plan, Memories, Checklist, Monthly Cash dan Grid Page. Overall sih suka banget ama diary ini.. walopun belum tentu dipakai. 

panmomo

Bulan puasa seharusnya menahan hawa nafsu. Tapi tetep nggak tahan kalo lihat si Momoi yang kebangetan lucunya ini. Awalnya iseng ngabuburit sambil browsing stationery di internet. Kebetulan ketemu sama online shop bernama Panmomo. Barang-barang jualannya unik dan lucu, pelayanannya juga customer oriented alias ramah banget. Meskipun belinya via internet dan bayarnya via bank transfer (alias nggak ketemu orang lain atau penjaga toko).. tapi mereka rajin hubungi kita via sms. They speak our language. Tapi berhubung tanggung bulan, THR udah keburu habis, dan belom gajian, jadi belinya segini dulu aja deh yaaa hehehe..

I bought 1 Momoi Diary (will review it on my next post), 2 sets of Momoi stickers and 1 set (5 pieces) of animal bookmarks. I think the price is quite affordable. Harga diary / planner berkisar antara 35-60 ribu, sedangkan sticker rata-rata 20 ribuan.. Masih ada juga barang-barang lucu lainnya seperti mug, dompet kartu, tempat pensil, dll. dan masih masuk akal semua harganya. Panmomo akan mengirim pesanan kita melalui JNE, jadi nggak perlu kuatir pesanannya nggak sampai.. Ongkos kirimnya pun standar kurir, jadi nggak terlalu membebani total biaya yang harus dibayar.

This shop is definetely a keeper. I really appreciate their customer service. Mereka benar-benar berusaha untuk meyakinkan pelanggan, bahwa belanja di Panmomo itu gampang, aman, dan nyaman. Bravo Panmomo !!

no brainer biryani rice

Here's the story. That night I was sooo hungry that I decided to have nasi padang for dinner. A set of nasi padang (rice + meat or chicken + cooked cassava leaves + curry gravy) would be overwhelming when we buy for take out. The rice is always double portion when we buy for take out. The result is either we eat too much or there are plenty of rice left untouched.

So that night I ate only half portion (from double portion, which means one) then I stored the leftover on the rice cooker. Press "warm" to avoid the rice for becoming spoiled.

In the morning, open the rice cooker. The rice of nasi padang usually the long grain ones, and mostly stained by the gravy of curry when packaged.. makes it perfect for flavourful rice such as biryani or rice pilaf. Just add some margarine (couples of spoon should be enough) and raisins. Mix them well on the pot.. and ready to serve or put on the lunchbox. 

If ever you want to make rice pilaf but can't find any padang restaurant around (for having gravy), I believe you still can make it using this simple steps.

Let say you already have the rice in your rice cooker and have the machine set to "warm". Add some margarine, raisins, and curry powder. If you have stock cubes or powder, you may add it as well to enrich the flavour. Mix them well, and they're ready in a minute.

oleh-oleh dari korea

Some of my students had a chance to go to South Korea for somekinda academic competition. They asked if I would like to have something. From South Korea? Are you kidding me? Of course it's gotta be stationery !! So these are what they brought for me. 

• a set of colourful highlighters 
• a letter opener -which also a bookmark
• a set of Winnie the Pooh 3M Post-it-Notes oh sooo cuuute.. really makes my eyes popped
• a pink needle-point pen, and 
• a small traditional pouch

So happy. Yippeeeeyyy...

   

cash book - ticket book

Other things I found in the drawer of my office desk is these pocket books. The one which has cover of cans is a ticket book, while the other with the swans on its cover is a cash book. Both of them were provided with double-side slip pockets. So you can slip the book on the front pocket and slip the receipts or tickets on the back pocket.

A cash book is quite common for Asians as we are trained to be careful in spending our money. There are coloumns of date, amount spent, amount gained, balance.. usual stuff. I think we should take notes of everything we spend if we want to stay out of financial trouble.

The ticket book is quite useful to record the details of what we spend. There are space to attach the receipts or ticket, there are coloumns to record the date, time, what kinda of event, description, etc. I think this book is quite special as you can use the book to record your happy moment as well. For example, ticket of the movie you saw with your friends, concert ticket of your favourite band, transportation ticket or boarding pass of your holiday.. Good idea ;)

sticky list

 

Here goes another things I found on my desk. This is lined sticky notes. Very useful for making a list... to-do list, wish list, appointments, etc. It was designed with coloured tab on the top and bottom, so it can also be used to mark the agenda / planner. Very neat.

fuel lunchbox

Searching for the right lunchbox would never comes to an end. Well at least for me. Have different kinds, shapes, brands, quality.. it's really good to appreciate what we have. Whether local or global brands, they all have uniqueness -and flaws- but I'm here not to judge the negative side. Those critics should be addressed straight to the company, to the production dept, to the directors, the decision makers.  I write about lunch box to share what I have and my personal opinion about it.

One of lunch box I came across recently is called Fuel from Trudeau Corporation . I think it's one of the ingenious design I've ever seen in lunchbox.. or I should say lunch-bowl ;) The official website call it "Soup on the go" container.

I got the picture from Amazon India few months ago, but it's no longer available.. anyway, I bought the bowl from a local Ace Hardware store (the one in Grand Indonesia). Got the kinda same colour (teal blue), but the set didn't come with the spoon like the one on the picture.

To carry this bowl, I think you'll need a seperate mini tote bag. It's too bulky to get into your bag, though I managed to tuck it onto my backpack. As you can see on the picture, there are 2 compartments. One is the bowl and the other is a round dish on top of it. So you can have soup or liquid food on the bowl and keep the dry ingredients (such as crackers) on the top compartment. This is perfect for Indonesians who love to eat congee (rice porridge with shredded chicken) and kerupuk. Bon appetit..

More about Trudeau Corporation : http://www.trudeaucorp.com/ca-en/default.html

hey ebay

Yaaayyy.. !! Today I received my first ever package bought from ebay. As I've told on my previous post, I'm not actually a kind of online shopper, but yes.. I tried to embrace it. So this is my first experience of buying stationery from ebay.

This is a study planner. It costs about $17.. For a cute planner, it's kinda over my budget.. but they offered free shipping. No additional cost for shipment. Fair enough. Even better, as I got $10 discount coupon from PayPal (as a welcome gift for newbie, I guess), I use it to pay the product. At the end, I just paid $7 ;)

Honestly, I am curious about this so-called study planner. It's not a common thing in my country. I guess this is why many students are still lost even when they already in higher education. They went to college because their parents told them to do so, or because they want to have a degree (without knowing what would they learn). Many of them do their assignment only hours before the due date, and revising their notes the night before the exam. This cute planner makes students to plan their study and have somekinda vision of what they're gonna do.

I'm gonna share the layout of this cute planner later. Stay around guys..

toko merbabu semarang - revisited

I actually have visited Toko Merbabu in Semarang in February. But I can't help for not visit it again. This time I went there with my sister and these are what I bought.

toko nam bie - semarang

Toko Nam Bie is one of the oldest shop in Semarang, Central Java - Indonesia. Located in the corner of Jalan Pemuda (used to known as Bodjong street), this shop is said to be established since the colonial era. I asked to one of the shopkeepers (a lady, whom I assume about 40 years old) about when the shop was firstly open. She answered "it's been here since a long time ago, before I was born" .. Well, not quite exact year I expected, but I will try to ask for a short informal interview with the owner next time if I had a chance.

Anyway, the interior of the shop is very modest. It really looks like we're stepping into the old days. Quite magical for me.. what a legacy. There are glass cabinets / showcases where you can take and see the items or ask the shopkeeper to get them for you. From what I see, the shop sell a wide range of basic office supplies. What I mean 'basic' is nothing fancy or cute.. However, I still managed to get some cute and unique stationery here. I'm in da house, y'all..

Here goes the list of what I bought. Oh by the way, they give you 10% discount when your bill exceed 20k. Woooww.. what a nice surprise. So I 'only' have to pay 67k for these things :

• 3 exercise books of 3-lined (for handwriting)
• 2 ballpoint pen in blue and red batik pattern
• 1 ZA knock ballpoint pen, which reminds me of the old Pilot knock ballpoint pen, when I was in primary school 
• 1 DR drawing pen 0.1
• 1 correction tape in the shape of whale
• 2 pencil sharpeners, each in the shape of puppy dog and brown racoon
• 1 acrylic ruler which has a mini magnifying glass in one end
• 1 green stapler remover

Overall, I'm really glad to be part of this shop's history. I've stepped into the shop and bought some things as well. Long live stationery.

green pink

When I emptied the drawer of my working desk, I found these two unused objects.

The green fat pencil is actually a pencil highlighter of Stabilo. This product is actually available in 3 different colours : green, yellow and orange. I think this highlighter is simmilar to the chunky version of colour pencils. Yes, it has neon colour like a highlighter should be, but it's kinda tricky to apply on glossy paper. The price is not cheap, about 20k each.

The other object is a pink card holder of Kokuyo. It can store about 60 cards and has elastic strap. As we all know, this brand is always expensive. I bought this in Gramedia for 60k. Remember how pricey it was, I think I better use it now to protect all of my cards.

online purchase

I am not a person who love to make online purchase. Yes, I'm rather an old-school, who raised in a generation where we went to a real brick-and-mortar store for shopping. I was scared of the credit card fraud or internet transactions, I am worry if the package was lost during shipment, or if I have to pay a hefty sum of money for the tax or custom. When I tried to make purchases in Amazon (dot com, not the jungle), most of their products can't be shipped to Indonesia. Other websites have some restrictions as well, such as they don't accept credit card payment from Indonesia. So don't you think what I have said earlier make any sense to you?

Nowadays, there are some local online stores in Indonesia, though nearly impossible to find one selling stationery. However, there are Bhinneka, Lazada, Zalora, low cost airlines.. and hundreds of blogs, facebook account and instagram who also sell products. Instagram?? What the...?! Well, I personally think Instagram has lost its core sense when you post picture for business. Anyway, those local online stores accept payment from Indonesia's bank (clickpay using token) or credit card. However, apart from the convenience of not leaving the house for shopping, I don't think there is any significant value added. I still can find those products from the various malls in Jakarta. I can even touch, feel, and try the product myself before I make a decision. I like to use all of my senses before I bought a product, not only see the details on my computer screen. For example, each paper has its own acidity, texture, colour, smell, thickness, brightness etc.. You can't feel the texture when you buy it online.

These days, I can buy some books -but not clothing and electronic stuff- from Amazon. I use my credit card which has the lowest amount covered, less than $500/month. I use that same credit card for my paypal account. So, yes I try to embrace this online transaction, but very cautious with the risk. Besides, there are inexpensive stuffs offered on ebay which also offer free shipping !! I might go mad just looking those stationery stuff and hit the buy button over and over. Having the small amount of credit balance really help to limit my spending. Always be wise in spending your money.

Aladdin mini tumbler

Got this mini tumbler couple weeks ago during sale period on Metro PIM. It was discounted to half price so.. fair enough. I like the design and the size, about the size of regular mug, which can hold 8 oz or 0.24 litre of beverage. Although it's still kinda bulky to fit into my bag, but it's perfectly nice to carry and fit the palm. Anyway, this tumbler is not really suitable for keeping  the hot/cold drink for so long.. after an hour or so, the content will be in room temperature.

ziplock for hobonichi

After a while, the pen loop of my hobonichi cover begins to run out. It also got stain from pen / ink on the edge of the loop. I don't think it really matters.. but it makes me think about the possibilities of other stain it might get. For instance I often have lunchbox or tumbler inside my bag which may leak -yes, it happened- and I might found all of things I have in my bag completely soaked and smelled awful. I surely won't let it happen to my hobinichi. So I came up with this idea. Get a small ziplock bag -the same size for a sandwich will do fine- and put the hobonichi inside. Even some pens and other stuff may also fit as well. Simple and cheap.

Kokuyo Kinokuniya

On my previous post, I've got dozens of stationery for unbelievably reasonable price  from Toko ABC, Bogor. This weekend, I went to Kinokuniya Plaza Senayan. For 120k, about the same amount I spent couple of weeks ago, these are what I got :

2 washi tapes - Scotch 3M
1 portable post-it dispenser - Scotch 3M
1 clear pastic pocket - Kokuyo
1 mini box of safety pin - Kokuyo

Scotch 3M and Kokuyo are well known brands  for quality products. Well.. so much price I have to pay.