Streaming Streaming

It's the second last day of March! Can you believe it. Although somehow I feel that this month moves on rather slowly haha, perhaps it's because there were only 29 days in February. The 2 extra days made this month feel slower (yeah sure...) heh. Well something kind of exciting happened today in Indonesia - Spotify has officially launched in my homeland today! After years of waiting.

Although I'm not that excited. Because I don't like the idea of music streaming, though I feel that this is the future of music. When everything will be wireless in the future I guess? Wireless, device-less and so on. I still believe in the idea of physical music. Even though it means as "files" on your computer. Why? I don't like the idea that we need an internet connection to listen to music.  

We should all be able to listen to music whenever and wherever!

I cannot imagine sitting by the beach alone, wanting to listen to some good chillout music but not being able to because the internet connection is horrible haha. Although yes, Spotify is actually a great alternative to music listening because it actually frees up the space on our phones. Since everything is online. But well I always have an iPod for music. I dedicate my phone for camera and communication.

But hey I'm quite excited that Spotify is here because... I can finally listen to the playlists created by my favourite artists! Like touring playlists, inspiration playlists, spring playlists etc. I remember Sigur Ros created a playlist of songs they listen to while touring and oh man I wanna listen to their songs! But I can't, cause Spotify wasn't available in Indonesia so... Yes. Now I can!

And there's that new songs of the week feature as well. I was reading online about how this feature is a great way for people to discover new music. So yes, as much as I don't like the idea of music streaming, I'm still going to give Spotify a try haha. 

Okay time to share with you the great music I discovered in March!

Great Music of March:

- Love Is Blind by Lapsley

- Darkest Hour by Lyves

- Gone by Day Wave

- Stuck by Day Wave

- Conqueror by Aurora

- I Went Too Far by Aurora

- Daydreamer by Bipolar Sunshine

- King (Gryffin Remix) by Years and Years

- Daydreamer (Gryffin Remix) by  Bipolar Sunshine

Lapsley and Aurora released both of their debut albums in this month! I'm feeling super awed and happy for these two artists I discovered last year. I think they are talented singers and song-writers, and I really love their albums. I discovered Aurora last year through her song "Runaway" which I fell in love with her voice instantly. As for Lapsley I discovered her through BBC sounds of 2015. 

Day Wave also released his new EP Hard To Read in this month. I pre-ordered his double EP and it came a few weeks ago I think. I really love his new EP! All of the songs are so good. Day Wave is one of my favourite new artists that I discovered. He's definitely gonna make it far. Looking forward to his debut album! My new favourite from him is "Stuck". "Drag" is still a wonderful song though.

I discovered Lyves from Mr Suicide Sheep again on YouTube. I really love this "dark" song, a pretty good song to listen to at night, when you're feeling jumbled up with emotions. Okay a few days back, Gryffin's remix of Troye Sivan's Youth was released. And I love it, like really really love it. I've heard of Gryffin's name before but I haven't checked his remixes. His remixes are really really good. I downloaded all of them on iTunes haha. And this is how I discoverd Bipolar Sunshine!

His song "Daydreamer" is such a nice song. It's another "Why didn't I discover you" moment when I first heard his song. Now his song is on repeat on my iPod. 

Alright that is all for the great music of March! Can't wait to know what's in store for me in April. Well for now I'm excited for 1st of April cause Explosions In The Sky and Hammock are releasing their new albums! I'm a fan of Hammock's music and I'm excited to listen to their new songs :) Alrighty I hope the week has been treating you alright. Wishing you a smooth-sailing journey for the remaining week!

Paradise

Proetry February - Paradise

We are all promised a heaven
for all the nice things we do
on this earth, this lifetime
A beautiful paradise we go to.

But why can't we be nice,
and shoe love, respect and compassion,
to one another, to all living things
and turn this beautiful earth, this lifetime,
into a beautiful paradise?

Before we leave our bodies behind
on this paradise
and move on to the next.

Inspired by the hate comments people write towards the LGBT communities in Indonesia. And everywhere else on earth. Be nice to one another. May all living things be happy.

Happiness

Proetry January - Happiness

I hope that you shall find happiness
Wherever you are
Wherever you may be

I hope that you can see it
in the blue sky
and the vast ocean

I hope you can hear it
in the whispers of the wind
or the chirpings of the birds

I hope that you can taste it
in that glass of water
or that cup of chamomile tea

I hope that you can smell it
in the morning air
or the smell of petrichor

I hope that you shall realise
that it's within
your heart
an eternall bliss

I hope that one day you will find
that not unhappiness is necessary 

I hope that you'll live a life
where you've run out of reasons
to be unhappy

Inspired to write this when I was looking at the sky one evening. I love looking at the sky, especially during sunsets in the evening. It makes me feel happy. So my inspiration comes from the happiness I get when I look at the sky. PS: I know this is so late! Supposed to post this in January but somehow I didn't so.... Yes. I will update monthly from now onwards no worries. 

Also, this series will be called proetry AKA Project Poetry.

A Good Friday

Today was Good Friday, so it was a holiday for us here! It was well, really, a good Friday haha. A pretty rainy one too. I think my dad wanted to go to the farm today but because of the rain we didn't. I spent the afternoon reading a book and watching YouTube videos hah. We were having a satay session too in the evening. So I was preparing my vegetarian satay too mwahaha. Made from mock-meats! It tasted okay. But I think the flavour doesn't match somehow. It should go well with peanut sauce.

I also made grilled eggplant with miso glaze. It's pretty good! I had too many eggplants though heh.

I can't really remember the last time that I had such a chill day like today. And it feels so weird to do nothing on the day heh. Perhaps I am too pre-occupied everyday with things to do and people to meet, that it feels very weird to have a day filled with emptiness. Well I'm looking forward to the Hari Raya holidays on July though. It's gonna be empty and chill days. I'm already planning of things to do here, back at home haha. Well yup I've decided to stay here for the holidays. 

You know these days, I've been having like random flashbacks of my days in Singapore. Like today while reading my book I just suddenly had this flashback of me walking to Jelita from my house on a cloudy day. Probably those Sundays/Saturdays when I would do my grocery shopping. Me, beneath the cloudy sky, listening to music while walking to Jelita. I really miss those days!

Sometimes I just can't help but to feel shocked at the rate that time is flying. It's been like almost 3 years since I went back for good. I do miss Singapore at times. But whenever I think of those good old days, I'm just filled with pride and happiness I guess? That all of these happened, that I went through all of these. I went through these days that have turned into memories now. That I will keep forever.

There are days where I would stare at the emptiness, reminding myself that "hey do you remember that you actually studied in Singapore for 11 years?" Hahaha. It's weird, but true. I'm 24 now. I really can't imagine how life will be 10 years later. All these memories, will they stay the same?

Life is one wonderfully funny journey. All of these things that had happened. All of these days that we went through, they are all beautiful moments. And I often wonder how much, and how long will they remain with us. Sometimes these days gave me bittersweet memories, of the sweet days of the past that I wish I could return. But these memories also remind me that one day, today will be a memory. And I'm kind of excited too, to know what memories I will have of today, in the future.

In the meantime, enjoy the show, put on your best foot forward every single time. Soon, enjoy the story as you time-travel back to today. Whew, life, you're so awesome!

Curried Chickpeas Taco

Hello again! It's the 15th of the 2nd Lunar Month today so I'm going to share with you the vegetarian recipe for this month! It's a new recipe I tried, Curried Chickpeas Taco (with kangkung).

Curried Chickpeas Taco With Kangkung  

Ingredients:

- 400gr of Chickpeas

- 2 cloves of garlic, diced

- 1 small or medium onion, diced

- A handful of kangkung (watercress)

- 1 teaspoon of garam masala

- 1 teaspoon of curry powder

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 1 tablespoon of oil

- A bit of water

- Taco shells

Directions:

As usual, if you're using dried chickpeas like I do, soak them overnight or for at least 6 hours. This time round don't crush them haha. I boil them for about 10 minutes till they're nice and firm (but nice to the bite). Or you can also skip the soaking and boil them straight away. I think you can do that.... I haven't tried it though heh. Or at least soak them for about an hour prior to boiling.

Heat some oil in the pan. Stir fry the onion until they are fragrant and transparent, then insert the garlic. Make sure they're not burnt (I learned my lesson here heh). Add in the curry powder, garam masala, salt and pepper and mix them all in into kind of a paste. Add a bit of water to loosen them a bit, make sure they're not too dry. And then stir in the chickpeas! :)

Mix until well-combined and a few minutes before serving, add in the kangkung and mix them till they wilt. Have a taste and add more seasoning if required. Take em out and serve! Just take a spoonful and put it on your taco and nom your way baby. You can also use burrito wraps I guess, I had some taco shell leftovers so I ate them on the taco shells. Or serving it with rice is great as well.

Alright that's it for my second MVR! I haven't tried any new veggie recipe so far... Made some miso soup last week though and it's quite good. Okay see you on the next MVR :D

What Do You See?

Hello! Alright to kick-off this month's new blog series (acts like a professional blogger/YouTuber) of Q&A, I'm going to start with a question by Syaz! Here it is:

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Hmm I honestly don't know the answer to this question. Because I think 5 years is a bit too long of a duration haha. I feel that so many things can happen within a year, can you imagine how many things can happen within five? But yes, I do have my own hope and aspirations that I wish to achieve in the next five years so I hope it counts. I suppose I'll just share with you my goals/dreams? :)

Okay to begin with, in the next 5 years I will be 29 (OMG). I can't imagine what life is going to be. Twenty nine! Hahaha. Well I hope to expand the flower business, and I hope that in 5 years we can venture to not only flowers but other plants as well. I am really really interested in venturing into chilies. And other vegetables! My biggest dream is to really help other farmers. I hope to contribute in making Indonesia a great agricultural country again. Where we don't need to import onions and chilies.

And I want to feed people. I want them to be able to sustain themselves and their families. Reading from articles about how we can actually run out of food by 2050 (or something like that) kinda terrifies me. So yes, I really hope to venture into the agriculture industry, and feed people. I don't think "farmers" is a bad or low-class job. They are the people who feed the nation, we should support them!

Talking about feeding people, I also have a dream of opening up my own cafe/restaurant/canteen here. A vegetarian one! I want to share my knowledge and spread compassion to other people by educating them about vegetarianism? Cause a lot of people here get all their ideas kinda mixed up about being a vegetarian. And so I hope to share with them the benefits they can get by going vegetarian. But of course, by all means, I'm not trying to turn everyone to be a vegetarian heh.

So yep these are my hopes and dreams. There are other plans of course but I think it'll take too long to tell you about them haha. But about the cafe part, I hope to achieve it by next year actually. Most important key point is that I hope to help my parents as much as I can, but at the same time I also hope to fulfill my dreams as life goes on forward. Oh well, we'll see how it goes alright.

I hope this answers your question Syaz! 

Alrighty, till the next Q&A session again. Not sure what label I need to tag this post as... Q&A? I was thinking of like project Q (for questions) or something like that. As of now, I'll leave it as Q&A!

Expectations

When you learn, and accept that,
at the end of the day,
no one actually gives a shit about you.

You're on the path
to becoming 
the happiest person on earth.

Challenge

The weather has been pretty crazy here. It's been raining everyday, and it rains so hard. Like really really hard haha. The outside of my room will be filled with water after the rain and this happens everyday. I need to cover the top with something. It's so weird because in Riau, dry spells are coming over and some people are trying to clear their lands by burning again -.- can we switch weather? So that Riau will be poured with rain and there won't be haze. I miss some sunshine too anyway.

I'm not quite sure why I didn't blog in the past weekend. Well it's been rainy so I spent most part of my Saturday reading a book haha. And also I actually had insomnia on Friday night. Like I actually fell asleep at 10 AM on Saturday! Even though I went to bed at 5.30 AM ish. Not sure why but I kept on waking up continuously till 8:45 AM. And then my eyes were wide opened from then on till 10 AM. Even though I fell asleep, I kept on waking up till 11:30 and then woke up again at 2.

I have no idea why. 

Anyho, I'm going to give myself a challenge to actually blog 10 times a month! From March onwards haha. Currently this is post number 4 of the month so I have 6 more to go. Actually the ideas for blogging kinda works. I'm actually "preparing" the posts to be written! I just need to find the time to blog it haha. Come to think of it I think it's very possible to blog 10 posts a month! It's whether I wanna do it or not :P I'm just really trying to keep this blog alive and well.

You know blogging is one of the things that I do (kind of) daily or at least weekly here that I've been doing ever since I went back home for good. My habits kinda changed. For example I rarely watch TV here. Or maybe in fact I never watch TV. The only time I watch TV is when either my parents/sister/maid are watching TV and I join them in. My dad would watch the news/documentaries while my mum sometimes watch movies. And I would join them.

My only source of "entertainment" is my laptop - the wonderful world of internet haha. YouTube, different articles, stories etc. And of course, blogging! Well it's also because I've been blogging for almost 8 years and it's definitely something I enjoy doing. And I'll always blog, until I can't blog anymore! So to keep up with this promise, I am trying to keep this blog kicking and alive :)

Actually these days I've been finding ways to stay "off-grid". Reading books, writing, and I also bought that colouring book which I haven't tried heh. I will do it once I bought some colour pencils. Sometimes I regard blogging as an off-grid thing too. Since I'm just writing, just that I'm doing it electronically. I'm trying to stay away from Facebook and YouTube. But well, I have to many awesome channels that I follow. And I always look forward to watching their new videos everyday.

YouTubers such as Casey Neistat, Fun for Louis, Buzzfeed (oops) and many many more. I've also been following lots of vegan YouTubers for inspiration and recipes haha. Most of my subscriptions revolve around music, travel, recipes, documentaries, science-y stuff and other random things. YouTube is a wonderful place. Just that sometimes the comment section can make me vomit blood.

Alright, lets see if I can hit 10 posts in this month! I think I can, more posts coming!

Eclipse

Today was quite an interesting day, with a lot of things being "commemorated" on this lovely Wednesday! First of all today is a public holiday here in Indonesia to celebrate the Balinese new year. It is called Nyepi, and it is celebrated by all Hindu devotees in Bali and its surrounding. It is a day where silence is observed in the morning (hence the name Nyepi, which is derived from the word sepi, meaning quiet) until the morning of the next day. I love the symbolism behind this day.

Silence is observed because Nyepi is a day of contemplation and self-reflection. The day before Nyepi is the exciting day where huge paper demonic figures called ogoh-ogoh are being paraded around towns and then eventually burned off. This symbolises the destruction of bad qualities to welcome the new year anew. Something like that. I would love to experience a day of Nyepi in Bali, although there won't be anything you can do since even businesses will be closed for the observation :P

Well, wishing a happy Balinese new year to those celebrating!

The next event is the rare solar eclipse that happened across central Indonesia today! My hometown didn't get the total eclipse, the sun was covered by 85% I think. I actually stayed up the whole night to witness this as the eclipse took place from 6.21 AM, and the peak happened at 7.21 AM. I didn't get to document this wonderful event, but I did witness it with the help of an old camera film and a shade haha. It's so amazing to see the sun being covered, the universe is such an amazing thing isn't it!

Anyway usually here we'll "see" the eclipse by seeing its reflection on a pail of water. We did the same thing today and I managed to take a nice photo of the moon leaving the sun, a few minutes after its peak moment. Okay I tried my best alright, but I hope you can still see it! So so amazing.

 I tried my best, an old camera film, a pocket camera and a pail of water

The next total solar eclipse in Indonesia will happen 33 years later. But if I remember correctly there'll be a solar eclipse (not sure total or partial) that can be seen in Singapore in 2019, I hope I can witness that as well. I was reading a National Geographic article last night about eclipses and the writer says that eclipses are great opportunities for us to witness the solar system in action.  

Couldn't agree less with him!

As for the last event well umm today is the 1st of the second lunar month! That's it hahaha. I did go to the temple today, whew was a bit late but not extremely late. I couldn't find a parking spot at the temple just now so I parked my car on this super awkward position and location. I was so worried throughout the whole chanting time cause I was afraid that a car might not be able to move or something. But thankfully nothing happened. Lesson learned, don't be late haha. Or look for a good spot first.

Alright that's all for this eventful day! Just another day that reminds us what a wonderful universe, planet and place we live in. Love the planet my friends, isn't it just amazing, so so amazing, to think of the whole universe? This wonderful blue dot that we can see from the moon.

Water and Wave

I've just finished reading a book titled "The Heart of Understanding - Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra" by Thich Nhat Hanh last night. The Prajnaparamita Sutra, or also known as the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra is probably my favourite Buddhist text. And I truly enjoyed reading this subtle yet profound interpretation of the Sutra by Thich Nhat Hanh! :)

I think I blogged about this sutra before. In Chinese it is called the 心经 or literally, the heart sutra. We chant it everytime at the temple, and it is a very famous Mahayana sutra. The sutra basically talks about the nature of emptiness in everything in life. The sutra talks about how Boddhisatva Avalokitesvara, while practising Prajnaparamita, discovered that the 5 skandhas are equally empty.

Maybe I should share with you the English version of the sutra here!

PS: This is a new translation by Thich Nhat Hanh, which is different from the book. But so far this one of the most beautiful translation of the Sutra that I've come across with!

Avalokiteshvara
while practicing deeply with
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore,
suddenly discovered that
all of the five Skandhas are equally empty,
and with this realisation he overcame all Ill-being.

Listen Sariputra,
this Body itself is Emptiness
and Emptiness itself is this Body.
This Body is not other than Emptiness
and Emptiness is not other than this Body.
The same is true of Feelings, 

Perceptions, Mental Formations, and Consciousness.

Listen Sariputra,
all phenomena bear the mark of Emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of
no Birth no Death, no Being no Non-being,
no Defilement no Purity, no Increasing no Decreasing.

That is why in Emptiness,
Body, Feelings, Perceptions,
Mental Formations and Consciousness
are not separate self entities.

The Eighteen Realms of Phenomena
which are the six Sense Organs,
the six Sense Objects, and the six Consciousnesses
are also not separate self entities.

The Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising 

and their Extinction
are also not separate self entities.

Ill-being, the Causes of Ill-being,
the End of Ill-being, the Path,
insight and attainment, are also not separate self entities.

Whoever can see this
no longer needs anything to attain.

Bodhisattvas who practice
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
see no more obstacles in their mind,
and because there are no more obstacles in their mind,
they can overcome all fear, destroy all wrong perceptions
and realize Perfect Nirvana.

All Buddhas in the past, present and future
by practicing the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
are all capable of attaining Authentic and Perfect Enlightenment.

Therefore Sariputra,
it should be known that
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore
is a Great Mantra, the most illuminating mantra,
the highest mantra, a mantra beyond compare,
the True Wisdom that has the power
to put an end to all kinds of suffering.

Therefore let us proclaim
a mantra to praise
the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!

To me this is a very important sutra in Buddhism. It teaches about emptiness, impermanence and the nature of things, which is something the Buddha always taught about. The 2nd and 3rd stanza is already such a powerful reminder to us. That everything in life bears the mark of emptiness. In the book, Thich Nhat Hanh talks about this emptiness. Sure they are empty. But empty of what? He explains that they are empty of a separate self. Nothing in this world and truly exist on its own!

There are a lot of things the book explain but I really recommend you to buy the book and read it for yourself. In fact, I'm going to read the book again to highlight my favourite quotes haha. It is a pretty subtle yet profound interpretation of the sutra and that's how I find the book so beautiful. I love Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings. They feel like a wonderful breeze that blows gently in springtime.

To end today's post, I'm going to quote a passage from the book: 

"A wave on the ocean has a beginning and an end, a birth and a death. But Avalokitesvara tells us that the wave is empty. The wave is full of water, but it is empty of a separate self. A wave is a form that has been made possible, thanks to the existence of wind and water. If a wave only sees its form, with its beginning and end, it will be afraid of birth and death. But if the wave sees that is is water and identifies itself with the water, then it will be emancipated from birth and death. Each wave is born and is going to die, but the water is free from birth and death."

Be the water, not a wave!

Sunday Update

Hello hello, just wanna do a quick update here. Trying to keep up with the blog posts! Anyway it's like 5 AM now as I'm writing this. Just finished doing a "studio photoshoot" of the food packages my sister's printing shop are manufacturing. They're making a brochure so I was helping them to shoot the designs. I wanted to do it in daytime, with daylight so that the light distribution will be nicer. But well uhh I tried it earlier and I don't have the necessary setup to do it. Played around just now and...

 Presenting to you, how to be a wannabe photographer on a budget!

Okay the photos turned out alright. Still need to do a bit of post-processing but I'm gonna leave it to the designer to do it mwahaha. Also cause I don't have photoshop. But it's okay! the expert knows it best.

It's been quite an okay week I guess. Perhaps it's the beginning of the month so we're not that busy yet. Anyway I've been trying to find ways to exercise everyday now. I've been doing like pushups and dips but it's not pretty effective (cause I don't know how to do a proper one). Lately some of my friends on Facebook have been sharing those fitness videos, some of them are showing this High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and they look interesting! I looked up a video demonstration on YouTube and tried a 5 minute session. It was so tough oh my goodness.

But it's pretty fun to do! Cause you don't need a lot of space and time. Well there are like 15 minutes session and so on. Since I'm just a beginner, I don't want to be ambitious heh. I was reading online about the pros and cons. Well it may be bad for your knee cause of the jumping and high intensity. And it may also damage your heart (very rare case) because of the high intensity. Err yes so I don't want to push myself too hard. Will hit the 15 minute session slowly, step by step!

Also it's been 66 days since I go meatless! Still feeling awesome. A bit annoyed though cause my weight still stays at 87. But this is the lowest weight, I've been 88 for almost two years haha. My body is feeling great as well, the rectum still loves me a lot. So far I've been feeling alright. Not much of a notifiable difference (except the part about egesting undigested food), but I'm feeling awesome and the food on my plate is almost cruelty-free! (Since I still eat eggs and dairy).

I am actually considering hard to jump into the vegan ship. But thinking the amount of "trouble" I'm going to give to my mum and other family members when eating, I think I'll go vegan once I live by myself or something. I'm very thankful to my mum and maid who are supporting this new lifestyle of mine by cooking awesome vegetarian food! And to my sister and sis-in-law as well for giving me veggie food sometimes :P Made some tacos last week, I will share the recipe soon!

Alright I better go to bed now. I wish all of you an awesome week ahead! Seize the day, seize the moment! Have a great Monday ahead too :D