Blessed Wedding!

 

 The pretty bride for today

Right, so today was my sister's wedding reception! It was a busy day for the family but I'm so glad that everything went well. Most important thing is - there was no rain today! It's been raining for the week and yesterday there was a thunderstorm in my hometown with strong winds. It was so strong that several trees around my hometown fell down. It was pretty scary.

Anyway I was the groomsman again this time round with my cousin, Iyo. So we fetched my brother in law in his hotel in the afternoon and brought him to my house where we did the tea ceremony. After that we went to bring my sister to his hotel, this time round with the bridesmaid, who's my cousin Jeslyn, and did the tea ceremony there. After that it was reception!

Nothing much to talk about the reception, it all went smoothly I suppose. Just like any other reception. 

To be honest it feels weird to see my sister in her wedding dress. This sister of mine, whom I've been spending lots of time with growing up, when in Singapore and even back here, is now married! Well just like the saying, your siblings are your first best friends in life. And my sister is definitely my first best friend I suppose? Someone whom I can always talk to, and spend a lot of time with.

Oh well, now that all of my siblings are married... THE PRESSURE IS ON ME. Just kidding. Well kind of, but nahh a relationship is not my priority in life currently. Besides I'm still 23. Not the age where I want to commit to a serious relationship. I want to enjoy being single as much as possible haha.

Oh well, I wish my sister and her husband a happy marriage. 

May you both love each other more every single day, forever.

Reality Hits

I'm feeling very weird today. Seems like reality just hit me on the face. And everything, the thoughts I have about life that I've accumulated in this year seems to merge inside my brain to form a huge ball of thoughts. Not sure what to feel, not sure what to think about them. Hmm 

2015 has been pretty much a fast and weird year for me. Being 23 is a weird thing to experience heh. I never feel this way before, ever, in my life. Perhaps as we grow older, we feel indifferent towards our age? As compared to when we were young. Where age doesn't matter, somehow.

Anyway today Mrs Jenny, my guardian of 10 years came to my hometown! So nice of her to go all the way from Singapore to attend my sister's wedding. When I saw her again for the first time in 2.5 years... A rush of memories just flooded my brain. And her presence really made me miss Pandan Valley and Singapore a lot. I can't believe it's been 2.5 years since I left the sunny island.

Which then leads me to all these weird thoughts. Thinking about how much life has changed. How much I've changed, how much I've become, and how much I have not become. It's so weird.

Alrighty gonna stop here now. Just wanna share with you what a weird day it is today!

Alright as I might be busy in the next few days, I'm gonna share the great music of November!

Great Music of November:

- Sunburnt Through The Glass by PREP

- On the Regular by Shamir

- A Song of Us by Marco Marche

- Senja dan Mentari by Marco Marche

- Open by Rhye

- The Fall by Rhye

Alright I haven't talked with your about PREP! I actually discovered PREP on August from their first release - "Cheapest Flight" through MorIndie channel. I fell in love with that song. And still waiting for it to be released haha. They released their 2nd song Sunburnt Through The Glass this month and I love it too! I still love Cheapest Flight more though heh. I can't wait for their album!

I haven't heard of Shamir till I saw him on the Laneway lineup. The first referral of him was his song "On The Regular". Gotta be honest, the first time I listen to it I went "WTH" because... Well his music is not really my type of music. But after listening to that song a couple of times, I now have it on my iPod and memorised like 3/4 of the lyric HAHAHA. He's a talented young man really. 

Discovered Marco Marche through Youtube, on my recommendation tab! Their song "Senja Dan Mentari" is so so beautiful. They really remind me of Kings of Convenience. The Indonesian male and female due version of it I suppose. I really love both of their voices and their songs! Check them out :)

Brenda asked me a couple of months back... Wait actually like right in the beginning of the year haha. I haven't heard of them but she recommended me their song "Open" and upon listening to it, wow I'm awed really. And I'm even more awed to discover that the singer is a guy! Milosh is such an awesome awesome singer OMG. I'm like fanboying over his voice haha. So I decided to buy their album, Woman, and hmm fell in love with it right away. I'm still contemplating if I should catch them live in Jakarta next month. Not sure if I can make it :l Oh well we'll see! I'd really love to see em live though.

Yup that's all for this month's music! Enya and Adele have released their new albums but they haven't arrived here yet (meow). Well I bought them directly from Amazon and they're arriving next week so let's just wait I suppose! I know Adele songs are sounding amazing listening from the preview on iTunes. I bought Water Under The Bridge just now. Cause I just love that song. 

Alright see you soon! It's gonna be an exciting, fun-filled and so-much-feels weekend!

Ten years

So sorry for not blogging the past week again! I've been rather busy lately, and lots of things happened so I didn't really have the chance to blog. Anyway, my Facebook timeline is currently filled with news about PSLE results. Also, some of my friends who gave tuition to primary school kids are sharing the joy of their students as well. Which reminds me... It's been TEN years since I took my result!

I can still remember the day I took my result. It was a week after our P6 farewell dinner which also co-incides with Pei Tong's 60th Anniversary. So it's been a week since I last saw my friends, and we were all nervous and excited to know our results. I remember when we gathered in the hall and the principal gave us a speech. And then a teacher (I forgot who) told us about the highest score in the school, and the top ten people who scored very well. Obviously I'm not one of them.

I can also still remember I was one of the last few to get my result, although I was supposed to be the first. Cause my form teacher, Mrs Leow, asked me to assist her to give out the result to the class first. And when she gave me my result slip, I was so happy to see one of my favourite bands - ABBA. But then I was a bit down when I saw the numbers below them - 204. But it's okay. I was hopeful.

And then I spent the remainder of the day going to the teachers thanking them. And then I went home and discussed with my sister to which school I should choose. I really wanted to go to Queensway secondary but the score was 207 or 211 I think... I still put it as my first choice. And my friend told my to put Clementi Town as my second (no freaking idea why I did that), and Tanglin was my third choice.

One of the most memorable things I remembered from this day was when one of my frenemy told me:

"I hope you fail your PSLE and retain for 10 years" HAHAHAHAHA

Okay she's neither a good friend nor an enemy. She just love to make fun of me. I remember I was so paranoid that I asked her to touch some wood and she refused to do so.

So it's been ten years since that "curse" was blurted out and... Wow I have come a long way. I graduated from Tanglin Sec, with good results. I have a diploma now. I climbed Mt Kinabalu. I did a big project on kidney and lasers. I ran half a marathon. And so on. 

Sometimes I wish that I can remain as a kid. Or I wish I have that heart of a kid. When I don't really worry about what's ahead. All I just want to do is to get into a secondary school, and I hope to do well there. Isn't it so amazing and funny how when I was young, I never imagined to have done all these things within these ten years. And well, I am just so eager to see what's coming in the next ten years.

I hope to remain that hopeful. That thirst of the things that are coming ahead of me.

Humans

There is enough suffering

In this tiny big world.

Lets not add more to it

You will leave your body behind

One fine day. One fine day.

Before you leave this body behind

Why don't you help

to alleviate the suffering of others?

At the end of the day

We are just humans

This weird creature

Walking around earth

Searching for happiness

And the eternal freedom

To the end of our suffering.

Happy Wedding!

 Officially the only unmarried child of the family HAHAHA

Right, I should be blogging about this yesterday but I was really tired and I wasn't feeling well. Cause I still haven't recovered from this annoying sore throat for the past 4 days or so. I hate how I'll get random coughing fit and I just feel like scratching my throat with my hands heh. 

Anyway so my sister got married yesterday! Can't believe how fast time is flying really. This sister of mine is now a married woman. Felt like it was yesterday when we were still goofing around like children (actually we still do now). She's the only sibling I dare to "bully" and make fun of hahaha. Perhaps cause she's the closest sibling that I'm with? Cause I was with her when my 2 eldest siblings were in Singapore, and also with her when my elder sister went back for good. 

And also perhaps cause we only differ by two years so... Yes.

I suppose I'm just happy for her that she's married now. And I'm happy that she has found the one. I wish the both of them a happy and blissful marriage forever! 

So it was an eventful Sunday I suppose. We went to the temple at 1 and the event begins with the "official" signing of marriage documents and so on. And then it's the religious processions. After chanting and taking the vow, and a few rolls and drops of tears (T.T), they're officially married haha.

We decided to hold a party for the workers from my mum and dad, and also my brother-in-law previous workplace where they have a good time dancing and dangdut-ing throughout the afternoon haha. It was the first time my elder brother-in-law seeing people dangdut-ing and he's quite in shock haha.

Yup, this was how my Sunday went yesterday. Was pretty tired by the end of the day that I fell asleep. I had lots of work to do but thankfully I finished them just now. Alrighty that's all for me now. I will talk to you soon! Oh and yes Adele's and Enya's new album this Friday!! I'm so excited :D

Fabulous Weekend

Hello again! Sorry for not blogging for a long time. I've had a packed week last week, and an awesome weekend to end it! Anyway Brenda and Jeslyn came to my hometown last Saturday! We spent the weekend together traveling around my hometown. Well some places are far from my hometown (2 hours drive away) but it still fall inside the regency of my hometown so yep. Haha. Here goes!

So I fetched them at the airport on Saturday afternoon. We headed off to Jakarta first to have lunch. Took them to Mangga Dua (I call it Bangkok's Platinum Mall of Jakarta) for a bit of shopping. Although we didn't get a lot of stuff from there, Jes got herself a necklace! Before we started heading back to my hometown, we ate dinner first at the cafe my brother always frequents. The journey home was a bit long thanks to a jam. We took 3.5 hours... Which is something longer than normal. Especially at night. 

View from the temple! A bit cloudy though

The next day we went to Pelabuhan Ratu (AKA Queen's Port) which is a beach area 2 hours drive from my hometown. Brought them to a local noodle stall which is very famous in my hometown for breakfast first. The journey didn't take long, it was an hour's ride or so I think. But the roads' condition were awesome haha. Anyway first stop is a temple of Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin) beside a beach! I think it's a beautiful place with a wonderful scenery too. Spent some time walking around the ground.

Oh and I also gave them a crash course on West Javanese mythology haha.

 As you can see it's pretty stormy

We then went to have lunch first as we're quite hungry. From the lunch area, we wanted to go to this beach with huge corals (Karang Hawu) but well at the end of our lunch there was literally a storm approaching our way. We just tried to go there, just in case the rain stopped halfway but nope, the rain got worst haha. So we decided to head back to my hometown instead. What a bummer, but well it's the weather and no one can control it so no worries! After resting for a while in the hotel, I brought them to dinner at a nearby cafe. I hope they enjoyed it! After dinner, we ended the day.

On Monday we went for a trek to a waterfall on the mountain of my hometown called Curug Cibereum (Cibereum waterfall). This is actually a first for me as well! Gosh 23 years of my life, and it's my first time haha. Anyway the trek up was... Whew. Some parts are really challenging with high slopes. Some parts are literally a walk in the (mountaineous) park. But it's worth the hike! Cause...

 Curug Cibereum

Yup that's the waterfall! It is so huge, majestic and tall. Well it's about 54m tall and it's pretty cold out there haha. And it's also famous for leeches, which the three of us got sucked on! Well, experience of a lifetime that is. We started trekking back and when we reached the halfway point (a guard post), it started raining. We decided to rest and... The rain got heavier! We waited an hour there.

 This is the stream I'm talking about.

As we trekked back, it disappeared under gushing water

We decided to have a cut-off time to trek back cause it didn't stop raining. And we didn't want to spend the entire afternoon there. We went to trek in the rain and... We discovered something to our horror. So we were supposed to cross this tiny stream with platforms to step on to. Thanks to the rain, the stream became a gushing river and the water level was raised for probably a metre high haha. So thankful for our guide who showed us another way. Although longer, but we reached the entrance safely.

It was definitely a day to remember! So glad I went through it with them :)

We took a shower first before I brought them for lunch. We were so famished from the trek so it was an enjoyable lunch. I brought them to the farm next and glad they liked it! Except for the slight drizzle. Jes was saying how she wouldn't mind spending her life there haha. Finally a good friend of mine knows what I'm doing here haha. After that I brought them to my house, before we went for dinner together with my mum, sister and her fiance. Was feeling kinda sad that their trip is ending tomorrow :(

 Thanks for coming over!!!

The next day, I went to Jakarta's airport to send them off. I was feeling rather sad that this fabulous weekend of mine is over. But at the same time I feel thankful for them for coming here to spend their weekend with me! And also... Next year will mark our 10th year of knowing each other. I feel really honoured to have crossed paths with them. And even more honoured that we still kept in contact.

I hope you both had an enjoyable weekend at my humble hometown! You're more than welcome to come back here. Just tell me before hand hahaha. Alright see you soon again! :)

Disconnected

Have you ever had this feeling of being disconnected? Symptoms include not knowing what day is today, what's today's date, and forgetting the things you need to do today, tomorrow, next week and so on. It's like being disconnected with our lives, with the present moment. And it feels unpleasant.

Some of the causes include having too many things going on in your life, or having something bothering your mind. It's kind of like our mind and our emotions are being pre-occupied with something else. Our body is here, but our mind is somewhere else. Or it feels like something (or someone) keeps on visiting our mind, that we're so busy attending to them and we kind of forget where we are?

That's how I'm feeling this week. Perhaps there were indeed a lot of things that happened in the first few days of November, and the last days of October. So many things, that it feels rather overwhelming. 

I suppose I'll just need to take a breather, and come back to the present moment.

November's gonna be an exciting month!

Hello November

Can you believe it's November already? Well so sorry for not blogging at the end of October cause to be honest I've had a rough end to October. Lots of things happened in the past weekend that I really have lost track of time. And all these things happened rather quickly so yup. Nevertheless I'm glad that everything ended well. It was a bitter end to the month but... The bitten end ended sweetly.

It's been an emotionally-draining month for me and I'm kind of glad it's over. Oh well, here's to an awesome November and a beautiful ending to the year! It's been quite a year to be honest.

Anyway since I didn't blog in the end of the month, I forgot to blog about my music of the month! So here it is. And oh boy November is such an exciting month of music for me. Okay here goes!

Great Music of October

- Indian Summer by Jai Wolf

- Love For That by Mura Masa ft Shura

- This Stage is Your Life by A Silent Film

- Hello by Adele

- Echoes in Rain by Enya

I discovered Indian Summer by Jai Wolf a few months back actually. I remember seeing the song uploaded on YouTube by one of the music channels (I forgot which!) but I didn't download it heh. It was only when I watched a video about Burning Man in which the song is used inside, that I fell in love with the song (again). I am excited to hear more music from this talented man! :)

Love For That is a song by Mura Masa with Shura on the vocals. I really really love the song. I remember the day it was released, the song was on repeat for me. I was playing it on Soundcloud like non stop haha. Thankfully it was released the next day on iTunes. I really love how beautifully simple the song is, yet at the same time it feels substantial. The strings, the beat and everything else are just amazingly cohesive. And Mura Masa is only 19! He's amazing really.

I discovered A Silent Film from the music channel Indie Air and I wondered why they're not well-known. I think they are like a mix of Foster The People and The Killers haha. Just listen to This Stage is Your Life and you'll understand why. They released their second album this month too!

Not gonna talk much about the 2 new songs from Adele and Enya. All I can say is I am very excited to get their new albums later on the 20th this month! I've pre-ordered Enya's album. As for Adele's I will wait for it to be released here. Cause exchange-rate here is a bitch.

Alright that's all for now. November is going to be an exciting month for me! I will fill you with more updates soon. Wishing you all an beautiful November ahead! See ya all.