Looking Back

January to December from left to right.

I had my ups and downs but overally this year has been so amazing to the last bit. Let's take a look back a bit. Here it is the 41^st (yay I did it!) and the last post of 2013.

I can remember every detail from some very special events, but I can't really recall what happened in each month. So I'll just give you a highlight. This year I turned 21 and I think it's such a cool number. A lot of firsts this year. I had my first experience in work/office environment when I interned at the Secretary of Commision I at the House of Representative. I went to Big Sound Festival, my first ever live concert experience to see Tegan and Sara, The Temper Trap and Blur, but mostly to see Tegan and Sara. I cried both when they started and finished their set. So grown up. Something I will always talk about and remember. I got into trouble, academically, but then escaped from it. I went places with my girlfriends and had my first sushi experience with them. We got a little misunderstanding for the first time but solved it right away. And in October we formed a girl band. Just kidding. I shot my friends for our yearbook and we were all dressed up, of course. It was fun. Then went to Central Java and for the first time experienced such a long ride. 

Well. It's been a pretty amazing year. 

Looking back, I think the good times and good memories eclipsed the bad ones. Doesn't mean you should forget the bad ones. You should learn from it and then go on, because it's in the past and there's nothing you can do about it other than take a lesson. 

I always feel kind of torn every December because I am both thrilled and nervous as to what next year will bring! I have some footage but haven't start editing the video. 

See you next year! 

Jawa Tengah

Minggu lalu saya ikut rombongan Mama dan teman-temannya sesama guru di sekolah yang sama untuk wisata ke Jawa Tengah, tepatnya ke daerah Baturraden dan Guci. Perginya naik bus ukuran kecil, kira-kira bisa menampung 30 orang. Ini pertama kalinya saya menempuh perjalanan darat segitu lamanya. Ini lebih jauh dari kampung halaman, tujuan mudik (ya iyalah orang mudiknya ke Bogor). 

Hari pertama kami baru makan ketika sudah hampir tengah malam dan juga bermalam di bus. Bermalam di bus! Pagi harinya kami baru check-in di hotel dan bisa meluruskan kaki. Kami melewati pantai yang sama sekali tidak terlihat karena sudah tengah malam dan minim penerangan. Juga melewati kilang minyak yang terlihat sangat indah di kegelapan malam. Duduk sekian lama di dalam bus yang sempit benar-benar menyiksa. Belum lagi sekitar jam 3 dini hari kami melewati jalanan yang rusak, entah di daerah mana. Peserta tur yang tadinya tertidur pulas, hampir semuanya terbangun karena kondisi jalanan yang membuat kami terbanting-banting di kursi kami dan karena kami takut supirnya mengantuk. Haha. Untungnya bisa dilalui dengan aman.

Yah intinya walaupun sangat capek dan tujuan wisatanya sebenarnya tidak jauh berbeda dengan yang pernah saya kunjungi, saya senang kali ini bisa membawa serta kamera saya dan kenal dengan guru-guru baru di sekolah tempat Mama mengajar. Sebagian besar dari mereka sudah mengenal saya sejak saya kecil. Saya tidak sabar sampai Mama bisa memperlihatkan hasil fotonya ke teman-temannya. Semoga mereka suka! Saya ingin sekali upload lebih banyak foto tapi entah kenapa Flickr selalu menggagalkan usaha saya... oke, kita lihat saja nanti. See you soon.

Bogor, December 2013.

Bogor, earlier this month.

A short trip to cure a little sense of homesickness. It's my father's hometown. There's a part of me that will always miss this city. 

Catching Light

Oh goodness. These past few days I've been trying to make a new blog post. There's a lot of photos I would like to share. I know the main problem is my slow USB modem, but I think Flickr hates me too. It's sooo difficult to post even just like six photos. I also tried the old uploader, zero success. I really don't want to resize my photos so I can post it via Blogger easily, but if this thing continues I might have to compromise. Ugh I thought it'll be cool if I can end this year with 41 posts in total. I'm not so sure now.

Anyway. Yes, I finally gave in and bought Catching Fire a week before the movie was released. I haven't read the first book though... I thought the cover was cool and Lily said I should just buy it. I didn't see any sign anywhere near the book piles, so it's a pleasant surprise to find out that I got 20% off at the cashier. Haha. And is it just me or you also wish that Jennifer Lawrence will be your best friend? I've seen a lot of gifs of her on Tumblr just being herself and it's so amusing. Her haircut also makes me jealous, but I won't chop my hair off in the near future. I need them to be long enough for graduation day.

I can't believe we're already in the middle of December! I'm excited for a little trip this weekend and another one on the next week. But before we're going anywhere, I really should scratch two things from my academical to-do list so I can enjoy the trip without feeling guilty. Or so I told myself. I'm such a procrastinator.

Sushi Time

I posted nothing this November because obviously, it's NO POST NOVEMBER! Just kidding. I wanted to! But there's been a lot of technical problems on my electronic devices. *scratch head* Everything back on, fortunately, except that I have much slower internet now.


These photos are from last October. Had my first sushi with the girls. I've always been unsure to give it a try because man, it's raw fish. But it's one of the places they suggested and I thought why not, as long as we don't go too extreme (I was thinking of eating baby octopus alive). I chose the one with avocado inside. How typical. And I was wrong, of course, because not all of them are raw. We had the 'easy' ones that day. Nothing raw. Then we look around the mall which has some pretty art installations. Also I'm pretty sure I remember it correctly, that I took all these photo in manual mode and that makes me smile. I'm still figuring out this mode with more practices. And I do apologize for the photo college of me and Tegan. I just had to do it, you know? Hahaha

I told my mother about my sushi experience ("Mama, guess what? I ate baby octopus!") and she was so eager to try. So when my cousin visited we went out to a sushi restaurant with him for dinner. This time I tried a set of raw salmon. I've always wanted to try it. I knew she wouldn't dare to try so I suggested her to order chicken instead. When my meal came, my mom was sniffing in suspicion saying she doesn't like what she was smelling, even though she can't point her finger on it. I give her a bit of my meal and from here, we can take a conclusion that she hates sushi. She said that bad smell was from my meal. And I didn't make it easy for her. I was like, "Mama, look at me!" She looks disgusted as I'm eating and enjoying it. Well, you'll never know until you try... that's one my life motto.



Off to the Ministry of Magic! Catch ya'll later, Muggles.

Edit: I think I made a mistake. When I said squid, what I really meant to say is octopus, as pictured. I changed it, but I think I need to make it clear. I was thinking about Squidward and how we had some inside joke about that character when I made this post. Gee. Haha!

Movie Review + Photo Mess: Black & White

I obviously enjoy more free time than I should for the past few weeks. I watched some movies so I think I have to give a little commentary/review about it, no?

• Forrest Gump. Well, this is embarrassing but I just saw this movie for the first time... But I love it. Forrest is like a really kind and also really lucky man. I laughed so hard on the part where Forrest gave a speech in front of hundreds of thousand people. Also, check out these kids dressing up for Halloween and you'll find Forrest!
• Super 8. So funny. Great kid actors. Love it when they're taking advantage of the whole situation and making it a great background for their movie. Just ignore the lens flare. J.J. Abrams has a thing for that. 
• Never Cry Wolf. This is a 1983 movie, almost ten years before I was born. I don't even know all the actors in these movie. I was reading review about The Grey and a review mentioned this movie so I watched it. I just love wolves, man. 
• Almost Famous. Also for the first time. I thought this movie will be a lot like The Runaways, but not really. It's sweet. I like this kind of teen drama in which the characters finally do the right thing.
• A Royal Affair. Of course I saw this movie because of Mads Mikkelsen. It's a historical drama. But it's also more than just that. Just go watch it. Hehe.
• The Vampire Diaries. I just started season 4. The ending of season 3 got me teary! I hate that Alaric died... 
• Hubble 3D. It's a documentary about seven astronauts sent to repair the Hubble space telescope, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. Needless to say, it's breath-taking. I'm happy to be able to recognize some nebulas shown in a scene.

Other than that, I edited some old photos on Photoshop. Some of the photos are from family day. I always wanted to make a post full of black and white pictures. I have found a set of actions, one of them is black and white, so it's easier for me now. I usually gave up trying to edit my photos in black and white, but that's because I don't really know the presets and curves to create a dramatic photo. I mean, it's not like these ones are dramatic... so yeah. Here we go.
 

1. Nessie?
2. Before we were upside down. Please ignore my hair.
3. Naya.
4. Faris.
5. Big girls talking.
6. Holding Naya because the ride was a little bumpy.
7. Appropriate expression.
8. Sometimes this happens.
9. Snack time for her.
10. An afternoon, watching people.
11. Focus 1
12. Focus 2
13. A normal red apple.
14. Boring clothes.
15. Kids.
16. Playing kites.
17. Bowie experiment.
18. A little sunlight.