Introduction

On Thursday, 30 April 2026, I went to a psychologist to consult my stress and depression. Long story short, the psychologist said that the way I work is too meticulous and faithful compared to the place I live, to the place I work. This incompatibility (along with other factors) had led me to experience severe job burnout (see (Maslach et al., 2001)). She said that I would have better chance and opportunity working abroad instead of in Indonesia. So, this got me thinking.

Why don’t I go “outside”?

Bandung: Not Really “Outside” But It’s “Outside” Nonetheless

A week later, precisely on Thursday, 7 May 2026, I had to go to Bandung, West Java. I went to Bandung because I had a test to take. It was a test to apply for a Manager position. Specifically, I applied to be a Manager of Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih, a priortized national program by the current President.

Neglecting my attitude towards the “prioritize national program”, it was an invaluable experience. Not because of the test or the recruitment process but rather because of my stay experience in Bandung. For additional information, I went to Bandung with my brother (he drove me to Bandung and kept me accompanied). I saw many people doing many different things. I observed many businesses along the way. I scrutinized how the test room was designed and built. And all of those experiences piqued my interest in broadening my horizon even further.

Warkop Modjok: A Transit with Cats, LOTS of Cats

The hotel I booked only accept check-in from 14:00 onwards, and we arrived at the location around 3 hours early. This left us with nothing to do but to stay somewhere. Waiting at the test location (Telkom Corporate University) was prohibited for security reasons and waiting nearby would also be painful becasue the traffic there was unbelievably busy. So, we decided to find a cafe.

My yet-to-be-achieved dream was to visit a cat cafe. Luckily, my brother, with his nimble and precise searching skill on the social media, found a cafe that has cats in it. Yes, cats. So, without a second thought, we drove there. The moment we arrived at the cafe (Warkop Modjok), we were greeted with chonky cats.

Telkom Corporate University: Pondering the Area of a Circle

The time had finally come for me to do the test. The procedure was identical to that of CPNS SKD Test. Starting from identity check, deposit counter, two body checks, identity check (2nd), waiting room, testing, take belongings in deposit counter.

My most unforgettable experience was when I waited in the waiting room. People may feel “waiting” to be a waste of time, a boring activity, useless time. But I saw it differently, or rather tried to think of it differently. Although I did got bored at the beginning, I found excitement when I tried to rationalize the formula of Area for a circle.

At first, I was pondering on the formula of circumference of a circle.

Where did the $\pi$ came from?

Then I initiated a mental animation in my head to cut and straighten the circumference of a circle. When straightened, the length of the circumference is approximately 3 times the diameter of the circle. Imagine a rubber band. Cut on one end and straighten it. Then take 4 rubber band of the same size as the previous one and place them parallel to the straightened rubber band. Place each of the additional rubber band next to each other and you will see the length of the circumference is 3 times the diamater with a small extra length on the fourth rubber band. If we zoom in indefinitely, we will get the $\pi$!

I still remembered the circumference formula but I lack the logical reasoning behind the $\pi$ and why the circumference formula is like that.

\[C = 2 \pi R\]

I pondered even harder. I placed my hand on my chin. Sometimes making hand gesture to point which side is which, which side represents which realtive to a circle, and so on.

When I disected the circumference formula, it was just like formula of a rectangle or any basic perimeter formula. The sum of all sides. Then I proceeded to imagine how a circle can be rearranged. I sliced a circle into four equal parts. Like a pizza! Then rearranged the slices side-by-side. I mentally flipped the slices so that they are alternatingly flipped. First slice, face down; second slice, face up; third slice, face down; fourth slice, face up. Then I put them close together so that it resembled a rectangle. Well, not quite like a rectangle but it closely resembled a rectangle if we increase the number of pizza slices!

Then I realized that the $\pi$ represents two sides of the rearranged pizza slices, and the other two sides represent the radius. It was at this moment that I knew, I found the reasoning for the circumference formula (meme pun intended).

I then moved to rationalizing why the formula for circle surface area is:

\[SA = 4 \pi R^2\]

I tried my best imagining the rearrangement but instead found the formula of circle area.

The formula area of a circle is:

\[A = \frac{1}{2} \pi R\]

Since the $\pi$ represent two sides, we divide it by $2$. Note that to find the area of a shape is basically multiplying one of its side by one of its side. A rectangle’s area is $A_{rectangle} = bh$, a right triangle’s area is $A_{right \space triangle} = 2bh$. The same with circle! The radius (R) represent one side (of a rearranged pizza slices) and the $\pi \div 2$ represent two sides but divided by 2, which then becomes one side.

Just after I finalized my reasoning of the area formula for a circle, the time had come for me to take the test. I couldn’t manage to reason why the formula of surface area is designed that way.

Fast forward, I finished the test and took some rest in the hotel.

Reflection (NOT Philosophical)

The next day arrived and we went to the cat cafe we visited yesterday (can’t get enough of the cats!).

Before we departed from Bandung, we visited a local pastry shop to buy some souvenirs. In the shop, I found something interesting. A reflection!

I know. “It’s just a reflection, what so special about it, anyway?”, you might ask.

Well, see the following picture I took. It is an ultraviolet light-enabled agriculture. I, myself, haven’t develop any significant interest in agriculture but this one’s an exception. The reflection!

Let’s get philosophical.

Why are there two reflections of the UV lights? And as the lights get reflected further, the lights get dimmer? Why?

I haven’t got myself researching about this but this is fascinating, indeed!

Reflection (Philosophical)

Unlike the previous section, this one is more philosophical. I swear.

From my trip to Bandung, I found and experienced many things that were novel to me. From the trip itself, observing people doing businesses, and even natural-physics events. There were so many things that I can learn from. Despite the thrills, I was (and still) disappointed at how and why Indonesia is not designed to be pedestrian friendly. If we look at Singapore or Japan, they have proper pedestrian lane and less vehicles. An inverse of Indonesia, in this case.

I want to feel a better walking experience!

And so the thought and plan to go to Japan emerged. It came from my disappointment towards Indonesia’s infrastructure design.

Travel Plan to Kyoto

Since this would be my very first experience going abroad for recreation (well, also in general), I have a bias to search for minimal efforts into flights tickets and hotel accommodation. I looked on a travelling application (mobile) and found a “Travel Package”. It’s a community-curated trip plan for those who want to travel to a specific country destination.

But I thought to myself.

This only maps out the flight and hotel. I need a more meticulous itinerary!

From this, my “Data Scientist” sense was tingling!

I want to make the ultimate itinerary plan that covers everything, to every minute details. What I have in mind as of writing this blog post is that I need:

Needs	Description
Saving Prediction	A predictive calculation based on monthly income.
Date Prediction	A predictive estimation of achieving desired saving
Commute Timeline	An extreme detailed time series of the trip from home to the airport, from destination airport to hotel, from hotel to airport for returning home, and from international airpor to home
Destinations	An estimation of distance, time, and route from hotel to all destinations in a given day for the vacation duration
Souvenirs	List of items to buy for family and friends

I will update the listed needs into separate blog and I will write a very technical data science project out of it. Stay tuned!