2018 World Cup Has Started!

KV Svalbard's crew, formed by Norwegian navy pirates and scientists from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, play soccer as they are protected from polar bears by armed guards in the sea around Greenland, on March 22, 2018. Source

The 2018 World Cup had kicked off in Russia! Which team are you rooting for? That icy soccer field is just unbelievable. As FIFA has more members than the UN, see more soccer fields across the globe in this link.

National Holidays: Indonesia vs Singapore

As an Indonesian living in Indonesia, I often forgot how privileged I have been when it comes to national holidays. I mean, have you ever counted how many national holidays Indonesians have in one year? At least 17 national holidays, including religious holidays and excluding the Mass Holiday declared by GoI for Idul Fitri holiday.

A few months back I got a freelance job from a Singapore-based company, meaning that I should work based on the neighboring state's work calendar. So I looked up the work calendar and found they only have 11 national holidays in one year. Here's a comparison list:

Date	Indonesia National Holidays	Singapore National Holiday
January 1	New Year’s Day	New Year’s Day
February 16	Chinese New Year	Chinese New Year
February 17		Chinese New Year
March 17	Hindu’s Day of Silence
March 30	Good Friday	Good Friday
April 14	Isra Mi’raj
May 1	Labor Day	Labor Day
May 10	Ascencion Day of Jesus
May 29	Waisak Day	Waisak Day
June 1	Pancasila Day
June 11	Idul Fitri Holiday (public sector)
June 12	Idul Fitri Holiday (public sector)
June 13	Mass Holiday (declared by GoI)
June 14	Mass Holiday (declared by GoI)
June 15	Idul Fitri	Idul Fitri
June 16	Idul Fitri day 2
June 18	Mass Holiday (declared by GoI)
June 19	Mass Holiday (declared by GoI)
June 20	Idul Fitri Holiday (public sector)
August 9		Singapore’s National Day
August 17	Indonesia’s Independence Day
August 22	Idul Adha	Idul Adha
September 11	Islamic New Year
November 6		Deepavali
November 20	Maulid Nabi
December 24	Mass Holiday (declared by GoI)
December 25	Christmas	Christmas

So today is a holiday in Indonesia, but I am working on my laptop. At least I'm working from the comfort of my bed, the perks of working as a freelancer. Man, I can't wait for that holiday on August 9 and November 6.

Happy holiday, good people in Indonesia!