Sentimental Post

I can't stop thinking about that it's been a year since I saw my most favorite twins on planet Earth, Tegan and Sara performed. Some people would never understand how some other people like me would get obsessed over a band. Sometimes I don't understand either. But it's just so amazing to hear the songs you listen to every single day being played live at that very moment, sang by the very own writers and singers who seem to always brighten up your day with whatever it is they're creating. Okay, I'm totally obsessed, right? Don't remind me.
 

So I read Mockingjay. I didn't expect it to end like that but I like it. I also printed some photos (43) on Tuesday. I'm half happy and half disappointed about them. These photos have gone through an editing process by myself and the lady decided to give it another minor editing, without asking me. Pretty sure they add some kind of 'auto contrast' or 'auto leveling' whatever. I have to say, a few photos look better with that adjustment. But the others... not so much. Next time I have to remind her not to add anymore editing. It's just upsetting.

Still feeling a bit sentimental right now, but I got a plan for Friday. I'm pretty excited about it. Let's just hope the weather will be cooperative. :)

Last December's Trip

Need to take a little break from my undergraduate thesis. I've had these photos up on my Flickr for about a week so why not posting them here. These are from a little trip on December 2013. I couldn't post them before because back then I was basically disconnected from the internet. It was the longest road trip I've taken and the first time I ever spent a night on a bus. It was a cold morning even though we already kept the air condition level at minimum. We drove through the rest of the morning and finally get to the hotel around 8. Everyone sighed in relief because we can finally rest properly and freshen ourselves with a much needed (cold) bath. Sitting with only a few limited positions in a bus for more than twelve hours is not comfortable, that's for sure.
    

The destinations were not that special but I'm still really happy because I get to bring my camera. Sadly, I don't take any photos of myself with my own camera, except for the selfie above which is obviously not focused on me. Haha. Anyway, while we were there we eat mainly at this restaurant which apparently have a lot of branches. I thought it was just me and the ladies who felt that the meals were flat, but apparently the whole group agreed. We like things to be more spicy. And on the last day, we had lunch at a different restaurant and they served us chickens with really spicy sambal (sauce). We were like, "Finally!" It was so good.
We went on the trip with my mom's friends. I got a lot of pictures of them that I don't post here, of course. So going back to school, my mom had all these photos to show to her friends and I'm happy to say that they like the photos. :) Stuck at home, starring at computer screen, I found myself daydreaming about being outside, going to places with beautiful scenery. This last batch below are some of my favorites from the trip. I used Lightroom for the first time to edit these photos and I still don't know how to reduce the grains.
 

PS: Who else is excited that Lorde won two Grammys??!

Slow Days + 2013 Video

It's funny how by the end of the year time seems to fly by, but after the year has changed it's like everything slows down. Back to school. Back to work. Back to reality. My mom especially hated the fact that her two weeks off went by in just one blink of an eye. She and I were born on January, our birthday is only ten days apart. Nothing special on those days. But I did make her a card and buy her a cake. This January I am back on the blogosphere without having to deal with slow internet anymore. Incredibly happy and grateful about that, so it's a good start. And since everything back on, I will share photos from Central Java trip (that I previously posted in one big photo grid blah) on the next post. In other news, it's been raining almost non-stop here. But some days it will rain and fifteen minutes later the sunshine is back.


I managed to put my footage into a video. In the process, I accidentally deleted all the footage permanently, cried in desperation, found a software to recover them, only to realize that I actually still have them in different disc drive on my laptop... You know, I could be really forgetful and dumb sometimes. Anyway, here's the video. Just watch it, please. :)

   

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.

Lebaran 2013

1. Magic hour malah foto tanaman, orang yang mau difoto entah kemana.
2. Persiapan lebaran: goreng kacang.
3. Bumbu masak.
4. UNO.
5. Another card game (nggak tahu namanya).
6. Silaturahim.
7. Sepupu.
8. Canonsss.
9. Si Om gaul.
10. Nayaaa.
11. Braided bangs. Let's just do this forever until I can get my normal side bangs again.
12. Sunflare.

Hai, semuanya. Pertama-tama, saya dari tim redaksi Di + Severus mohon maaf ya kalau ada postingan yang tidak berkenan. Mohon maaf lahir dan batin. Semoga bertemu lagi dengan Ramadhan-Ramadhan berikutnya dan jadi manusia lebih baik lagi. :) Lebaran ini ada yang kurang. Kurang silaturahim karena nggak bisa mampir ke Bogor... :( Kurang banyak foto... halah. Maafin yaaaaa...

Ada kejadian lucu di pagi Idul Fitri. Saya dan Mama biasanya maaf-maafan selesai sholat Ied, sesampainya di rumah. Ceritanya udah siap nih mau minta maaf dengan mengharu biru. Sambil saling minta maaf dan berpelukan, si Mama ngasih semacam nasihat dan doa gitu deh. Mungkin tadinya beliau mau bilang, "Semoga jadi anak yang soleha dan dapat jodoh orang yang soleh ya..." entah kenapa yang dia bilang justru...

"Semoga dapat jodoh yang soleha..."

Saya spontan tertawa terbahak-bahak. Dia masih belum sadar juga. Akhirnya saya bilang, 'Berarti jodohnya cewek dong?' Yes, direstuin! Dia bengong sejenak dan akhirnya ikutan tertawa. Kami tertawa bareng sambil masih berpelukan. Saya berusaha untuk berhenti supaya dia bisa melanjutkan doa-nya untuk saya, tapi saya nggak dan kami pun tertawa lagi. Buyarrr sudah semuanya. Tapi kalau dipikir-pikir saya juga suka begitu sih. Saya tahu sebenarnya mau ngomong apa, tapi begitu keluar dari mulut kata-katanya nggak sesuai dengan yang saya maksud. Ternyata genetik. Hahaha

Sekian dari saya. xoxo