Home, But Away From Home

Iam checking in from Ubud, Bali!

I'm coming back for Ubud's Writer and Reader Festival this year. So happy to finally get a chance to reconnect with my Zen Town. It's a Zen Town cause It never fails to calm my nerves. Ubud is always a lovely treat for my soul.

Had the most amazing sleep last night. I didn't dream, just a bug bite. The weather is also super nice and warm. My guest house doesn't provide aircon and still I had the loveliest sleep last night. My skin is thanking me for the warmth of the sun and the breeze. Again, a treat for my soul.

Today will be a busy day. We have several places to visit, friends to meet, nights to drinks. HAHA. Before me, the house keeper just served hot coffee old fashion way (using thermos like the one I watched at The Accountant!). I will write more. But for now, coffee it is.

Have a wonderful day friends!

One (Almost) Perft Morning

Iam waking up to a rainy Sunday morning. The one that seems to exist only in the songs and movies. Feels unreal. And super rare.

A rainy morning is an invitation to stay longer at bed, dream about your greatest romance in the future. My rainy day playlist is shuffling, playing mostly She&Him and Danila. I wish I baked something for breakfast. But I've been absent for more like a year and a half from the kitchen hahaha.  It's so hard to move from the warmth of your blanket. And it's okay, only for today.

I feel at peace and calm. Let's take this as a present from The Almighty, a treat for us, human and a reminder that some days can be this lovely because a simple thing such as having hot tea on rainy morning.

Happy Weekend

:)

pic from pinterest.com

Change is Hard, But Possible

I don't like online shopping. I used to like it so much, since you could get a good bargain online for the same thing they sell at the mall. It's cray. I remember it was around my sophomore year at college, that online shopping was blasting like a bomb, thanks to Facebook and Instagram and Blackberry Messenger. People like, suddenly changed their shopping habits from the crowded department store to a 5" inch screen, that is smart phone, in the comfort of couch at home. Click click and your purchase will be delivered to your door step. Bye-bye traffic jam and packed mall on weekend.

Another thing why online shopping was so so in that time was because everything looked better at the pictures. EVERYTHING. 

"That shirts looked so cool, that shoes looked so comfy. Oh my god! It's only Rp 100.000,00! Gotta get them all since it's super cheap!"

Then the bell rang and the delivery man mentioned a package for you. You were excited, you finally got your hands on the shoes on your dream, with much lower price than everything you've ever found before at the mall. The big smile turned into a frown once you unwrapped the package and found out a pair of shoes that didn't resemble the picture you screen captured from the seller's FB page. It happened again with the cool shirt, the sweater, another shoes and you had enough. Well, I had enough, since it's actually my personal experiences. I don't want to pay less for something that will break after only a week or itch my skin. But the pictures LOOKED SO GOOD. I should have known better. Expecting a high quality product with unreasonably low price is stupid.

From those experience I learn a lot that even though online shopping is tempting, not all sellers are trusted. Some showcase their actual products on their social media page, some take pretty pictures from google that look like what they sell, but not really. I get better at classifying a trusted seller and the not-so-trusted-seller. I regain my faith on online shopping again after several months. At the end of the day, I think it's all coming back to the buyers. If you are smart, you know what you expect and which one to choose to fulfil the expectation.

And then sephora.co.id happened. I was ecstatic. Sephora came to Indonesia, just in time with my new obsession on perfect foundation and good lipstick. Wasn't it some kind of cosmic sign that i might go on and shop more make up? ;)

Still shopping make up online is also tricky, specially finding the right color of foundation and lipstick that will match your skin tone perfectly. I was happy at first then struggling later cause I had no idea how to get the color right. And Sephora's store is not yet available at Surabaya. Life, my friend, is sometimes that challenging. Hahaha.

Nothing seems impossible nowadays. I just never imagine that one day, one day my friend, I can try on the lipstick I want to buy at sephora.co.id. I'm still in awe up until now, even thou I took hundreds of selfies trying on different shades of lipstick with the new feature at sephora.co.id. Hahaha, guilty.

Yes, the new feature at sephora.co.id is such a life saver. It's called Virtual Artist. By using this feature, you can try on the shade of the lipstick before you purchase it. They provide wide range of shades from a lot of brands that available at sephora.co.id. Now, collecting the lipstick of your dream from your favorite international brand is not that hard anymore. YAY.

As I mentioned above, I tried a lot of shades using Virtual Artist and boy, I love this features so much. I actually have been trying this feature for a week before decided to write it down. This is addictive. Like, every morning, before actually putting my make up on, I always use Virtual Artist to try at least 3 shades of lipstick. Hahaha. And when in doubt, there is "Compare" button that will save you from I-can't-decide-I-want-it-all situation. You can compare several shades and pick the ones you like the most. I have to say that sephora.co.id got me hooked this time. I want everything I tried. I love all the shades I choose and I don't have to guess whether it will suit my skin tone or not, because I've tried them on, uhum, virtually.

I also tried the "Surprised Me" button. It will randomly choose several shades and you can keep shuffling till you find something you like. Surprise! Virtual Artist read my mind and pick just the right shades for me. So many lipstick, so little time. Well, a girl can never have too many lipstick right? ;) 

Btw, other that I get to choose the lipstick shade I desire, I can also see how the shade will change my vibe. Coral shade is fresh and cute while nude shade give me the natural make-up-no-make-up look. I also love the vibe the deeper shade gives me. It's kind of mysterious and edgy. I think it will look amazing with my faux fur jacket. Ugh, this is so much fun!

I'm ended up chosing the one from Lancôme L'Absolu Rogue Definition no. 195 Le Carmin. This is the shade I love most. The subtle elegance it gives, yet still bold and gives a statement. Definitely fall so deep with this one. 

Can't ask anything better that this Virtual Artist features on sephora.co.id. My life is so much easier now that I get to shop my favorite lipstick online, worry free.

When We Were Young

It was a convo last weekend that brings me to this moment. I was out for coffee with my sister and my best friend and in the middle of something (not really sure whether we were eating or talking about the hottest gossip), my best friend said, "Well, it seems that your working hour is 24/7. You even bring your laptop to email your client when we should like, chilling eh?". I was stunt. I immediately put down my phone (i was, indeed, in the middle of chatting with my client, work stuffs).

Then my sister said," well, at least she's so much happier right now. She used to have this kind of super-tired-of-my-life-thou-iam-only-23, she frown a lot. Now, work is like, non stop but she's all smile." I lauhged. The fact that my sister got me right on point is funny, because I didn't think about it even once before. The last 3 months has been fun, experimental, wild and out of my planet. I wrote about it in my previous post. My sister is right. Work is non stop. Sometimes I work on weekend. I didn't get to stop and breath. I am on marathon. I am on the fastest lane to Tokiooo~~~ hahahaa.

I consider my self super lucky to meet my boss today. She's nice and patience and humble yet driven and strict and non stop. Yep. She's the definition of non stop hard working. I think she's a perfect person to learn about being your own boss and make your dreams come true. I feel like I'm growing, bit by bit, to be the person I want to be. I'm developing to be better in overcoming hardship and obstacles. I'm learning how to communicate my idea. I'm happy. After a long long time, I feel like I'm finally on the right track. 

I have nothing else in my mind right now, except growing and developing my self, exploring my capabilities and pushing my limit. I am so absorbed in projects by projects she's throwing at me. I can't stop thinking about what's next, what should I create. Sometimes when I feel there's too much going on in my mind, I quickly escape from life. A day out with my girlfriends usually effective to cool down  my system. Little by little I'm finding my own rhythm in this "new life".

Then my bestfriend asked me,"Don't you invest too many of your times on works? Wait. I'm asking the obvious."

I laughed, again. She should have known my answer. It's crystal clear for her and my sister. I always want this, of course I am working my ass off to be the best. First of all, It's never been a work for me. It's having fun with your creativity and ideas and my wildest dreams. Second, I'm not married, yet. I don't have kids, I don't have to support my family financially. Iam as free as a bird. So why not investing lot of my time in my self? I only get this moment for a while, before I decide on more responsibilities on my hands. Better make the most out of it. Now, or never at all.

I love the fact that I laugh so much lately. It's so relaxing to be my own self again.

It's Always You

So, here is a thing, or two, about growing up : insecurity, slapped by reality, mood swing, being doubted, vunerable, LOST, turning points, failures, pressures, dissappointment.


Here are other things about growing up: your OWN space, your OWN way, your OWN life.
Iam trying my best not to let my OWN self down.


Cheers,

- picture taken circa March 2016 at Seminyak-Bali, it was raining. I remember not wanting to leave, even thou my flight back home was later that afternoon. It was bad back then, my mind and my life sucked. Not long after that, I made one of the biggest decission in my life. A game changer. Best. Decission. Ever.

"He popped out of nowhere
I was unprepare
With just one stare
He brought me big smile"

- Coffee after office hour on Friday

When I'm Sipping My Coffee #1

Don't hold back

If you think that's a good idea, spit it out

Worst case, they think it sucks

But if it hits right on spot, that will be an open door to whatever you've been dreaming on

Don't let your imagination die inside your brain

Let it out, and see where it will take you

--Me on how not to be shy and awkward on meeting with potensial clients and the big boss

Now is Good

I don't know that being carried away in a job feels so fulfilling. I feel like I've been so thirsty all this time and now, now I finally found a fountain in the middle of the dessert. It's intoxicating, I can't get enough. Sometime I'm scared that I may be drown. I'm scared that I forget other things like, my sisters, my cats, other live beings that also need my time and present. But I'm glad I'm scared. Cause that keeps me alert. It's so so so fun. All of this ups and downs and excitements. I'm finally got a taste of my very own rollercoster.

So many things I need to see, I need to feel, I just can't settle down and stand still. Not yet. Not now.

But now, all is good.