Eden

Alright, time to share with you some of my music discoveries for March! Man can't believe that 3 months have passed in 2019 already. Crazy. It feels like the year just began a few days ago.

Anyway hmm seriously thanks to Spotify I discovered a lot of music every month! So to err make my life easier (AKA cause I'm lazy) I'm not going to talk about every song, just the new ones of my favourite ones! Seriously man, thanks to Spotify's weekly discovery and release radar playlist I've been discovering so many new songs every month. It's so cool. And I love most of these songs!

Alright here goes!

Great Music of March:

- Enemies by Egoism

- Handmade Heaven by Marina

- Don't Feel Like Crying by Sigrid

- BKLYNLDN by Shura (!!!)

- Harvest Moon by Mree
- Eden by Hania Rani

- Hello, Anxiety by Phum Viphurit

- My Salvation by Lighthouse Family

- Jet Black Heart by Ojai

- Bend and Break by FM-84

Song of the month: Hello, Anxiety by Phum Viphurit and Harvest Moon by Mree 

Alright lets begin with the new discoveries. Enemies by Egoism is such a cool summer song by this new band I discovered from Australia! I really love the guitar riffs in the song and the appregios haha. It's such a great song to drive to and it really reminds me of summer days. As for Mree, I discovered her from this song from my weekly discovery playlist in Spotify and oh my goodness I fell in love with this song so much. It's really really dreamy and her vocals is amazing. I wish I could discover her earlier but as always, better late than never I guess!

Hania Rani's Eden is truly an amazing song. So glad I discovered her music because wow she's a great piano player! I've discovered two of her songs so far, Eden and Glass, also discovered via the release radar playlist on Spotify. Eden is an amazing piece. Please give it a listen!

I forgot to include Marina's Handmade Heaven in last month haha. I think it's a beautiful song and I love the music video! I am very excited for her new album too. Anyway I love the lyrics of the song, especially the first line that goes: "I envy the birds high up in the trees, they live all their lives so purposefully" It resonates within me, cause... At times I feel lost in life, about my purpose heh.

And Shura dropped her new song BKLYNLDN which is such a silky, smooth and warm song. I think it's a continuation from Touch and damn it Shu, I haven't "moved on" from Touch and now you dropped this song! Eeep! Haha. I sincerely look forward to the day where I will cuddle with my other half on bed on a cold Sunday morning with that song blasting through our room. Whew!

And Sigrd also released her debut album "Sucker Punch!" I think it's a great album although hmm. I don't really "feel" the lyrics, weirdly somehow. Also can't really make a connection with the album, even though I have to say some of her songs are really great! And DKMV is still my favourite for me.

Alright that's all from me today. It's getting late and I don't wanna continue further haha. But yes, I enjoy the discoveries I made in March! Pretty excited for April cause there are 3 albums I'm looking forward to! Jai Wolf's Cure To Loneliness, SOAK's Grim Town, and The Cranberries' In The End. Though I'm also not looking forward to the latter, cause... I still feel sad about Dolores' passing :l

Okay, I hope you had a Marvelous March! Lets welcome an Amazing April people :) Take care.

Veil and clay

I recently finished reading "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran, and I think it is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature that I've ever read! I really wish I can memorise the whole book or something.

Anyway, I just want to share you probably my favourite passage in the book. It's from the last chapter:

"The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it.

The clay that fills your ears shall be pierced by the fingers that kneaded it.

And you shall see.

And you shall hear.

Yet you shall not deplore having known blindness, nor regret being deaf.

For in that day you shall know the hidden purpose in all things.

And you shall bless darkness as you would bless light."

This is so so beautiful. I will remember these words forever.

Anxious

Another awesome song release by one of my favourite singer, Phum Viphurit! Hello, Anxiety.

This is that song that sounds so good by feels so familiar(ly aching). I'm proud and happy that Phum has decided to share this wonderful song with us, and yes, I think many of us have found a piece of us in this song. And as seen from the comments section, Phum is right when he said that too!

Well to begin with, I'm not sure if I am clinically diagnosed with anxiety. But I've spent a great deal amount of time coping with it heh. Sleepless nights, powerless days, where I'm just really crippled with worries. Which is quite ironic because I've always regarded myself as a positive person.

Perhaps all of us have anxiety. I mean, who's not really worried about the future and life itself?

I hope you enjoy this song and well, this song is going to stay with me for a long time in life.

Thanks Phum! Kop Khun Kap!

Return of Lighthouse Family!

So last week I think, I found out that Lighthouse Family's FB page uploaded a new photo of Tunde and Paul, along with a cover photo that says exciting news coming soon. I was so so excited! Haha. They just released a new song called "My Salvation" today and I was really happy to hear it. I think the song is so-Lighthouse Family haha. Though the video is made up of their past videos, I still think it's a really cool video to an awesome song. And they're releasing a new album in May too!

I think it's quite miraculous and co-incidental how I was (somehow) listening to their songs a lot the past few months, and I thought to myself what an incredible thing it will be if they decided to make new songs again. And boom, here we are now! Haha. Even though I first listened to them back about 20 years ago, I still occasionally listen to their songs throughout my life. There really is something about their songs that make me truly enjoy listening to. Perhaps it was the longing to a simpler and happier times, or perhaps they're just really good. Or both, as always.

Anyway LF is a 90s band that is close to my heart. Because I discovered their songs from my sister, during those years where I was leaving for Singapore to study. So unlike the other bands, where I just "blindly" sing and enjoy their songs (without knowing the meaning haha), I listened to LF songs when I was studying English and thus, understanding and enjoying the lyrics! The first song I listened from them was "High". And it's still, in my opinion, one of the best songs ever!

"Whatever Gets You Through The Day" was the first album that I listened from them. I remember listening to it on CD, on my sis' Discman! Haha. It was only after that when they released their compilation album of their best songs that I discovered the rest of their songs. Ocean Drive, Goodbye Heartbreak, Lifted, Postcards From Heaven became my favourite then. Man, good old days!

I'm very excited for their new album. I've always felt how awesome it is to be able to return to the 90s. We can't do that, obviously. But having bands like LF releasing new songs really make me feel like a piece of the 90s are returning to the present. So yep, very excited for "Blue Sky In Your Head"!

Alright that's all for this short random post. It's been quite a busy week this week, I just returned from Jakarta on Wednesday to do some shopping for the kitchen appliances shop. Alright catch you later :)

Detox

There are lots of articles posts floating around these days about doing a digital detox. Basically where we delete all of our social media apps on our phones, and go about our days. Some even go to an extent of deleting their accounts! Well I would say it's quite a nice thing to do actually. I did it once, when I went to Tibet. Since China banned Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, I was without social media for 11 days. And it was an amazing experience hahaha. And I didn't have FOMO in those days!

It was also made enjoyable because I immersed myself fully into the trip. No distractions! I did the same when I went to Cambodia haha. I didn't buy a SIM card and just use the hotel's internet.

Anyway, not only this detox, but there are lots of times when social media is being blamed for a lot of negativity in life. From fake news, to us comparing other people's lives, envy, pride and so on. Hmm well it's quite true to an extent. But we always forget one thing: at the end of the day, it is us who use social media! Which is why I live with the saying I once got from the internet: use social media, and don't let social media use you. Cause at the end of the day, we're the one using it.

Recently one of my favourite musicians has decided to leave his Facebook fanpage behind, and go back to the good old website and newsletter. I actually don't mind at all, I respect everyone's decision. Just that I find it ironic, because one of the main reasons to why I use social media is to follow my favourite musicians/bands on their social media to get updates from them. Be it new songs, tour dates and so on. So yeah I find a bit of irony in this scenario actually haha.

And yup to be honest I'm not really that active in social media anymore, except for sharing interesting articles, photos, and good music (cause good things must share!). Except maybe for Instagram, where I still upload photos actively. Though to be honest I've "slowed down" a lot as compared to a few years back. Like I mean, I posted 4000 photos in 2 years alone. And the next 1000 in the next 4 years. So yes, you can imagine. And if I can turn back time, I won't do it! Hahaha,

I use social media primarily to keep in touch with my friends, since I am 1000 KM away from most of my friends. But then again these days, I only keep in touch with a few heh. Next to be updated from the happenings of the world. I no longer watch TV, so I got my news from the social media page of the news outlet that I follow like CNA, CNBS, MetroTV, Kompas and more. And as mentioned above, to follow the updates of my favourite musicians and bands.

And these days I also use social media for one thing: a source of inspiration! Cause there's so many talented and creative artists that use social media to use their work and it's always so inspiring to see/read them. From photographs, to stories, videos, writings and even recipes. I'm following a lot of vegans on Instagram who share many wonderful recipes. And also plant-based nutritionists and doctors that share valuable information about nutritional health.

Do I feel the "negative" sides of social media? Yes. But I don't let it entirely ruin my usage of the platform! I used to feel envious of friends who are traveling and post their photos on IG while here I am stuck in Indonesia. But mehh, once again I don't blame it on social media, I blame it on myself because it's useless feeling envious actually haha. We should feel happy for them!

And there are also yes, fake news and just negative things spreading around social media. And I think it's our job to stop sharing them, or to enlighten other people about the truth. Cutting through their ignorance and letting them know what is right etc. Again, it's the fault of the creators of these negative posts and the people who spread/share them around. Not the platform itself

So yeah coming back to my first point, at the end of the day, it's how we use it!

Although I am kind of thinking to do more social media detox heh. Currently I'm doing so by having this rule where I won't touch my phone before I go to bed. I spend this time doing "off-phone" things like filling up my bullet journal, blogging, writing and of course, doing work. And I don't touch my phone until I showered in the morning. Until my mind and body is ready heh. I am trying to reduce the amount of time I spent (albeit mindlessly) scrolling through social media. And I think it's kinda working!

Alright that's all for this post on social media. I hope you use your social media wisely too! It's quite a wonderful place to be in, but I think there are more wonderful places our minds can go to :)

Nyepi

So last Thursday was actually a holiday here. It is Nyepi, a day where the Balinese people celebrate the new Balinese year. But they don't celebrate it with a bang, like what we usually do. They celebrate it by observing a day of silence, meditation and contemplation. And damn that sounds like my kind of holiday! Haha. I seriously don't mind spending 24 hours doing those three things.

Well this is a random post but I think the world needs more "Nyepi days". I think it's good to just stay still, meditate and contemplate in silence. Once in a while. As an meditation practitioner, I've been enjoying my time sitting still in silence, observing my breath and chanting mantras. These days, I tried doing vipassana meditation and oh my goodness it's tougher than I thought! Haha.

I kinda realise that as I grow older, I become a quieter person. It's fun to stay silent and observe everything that comes "into" you. Be it the words that another person is saying, the thoughts that come to your mind and essentially, the emotions that you feel. I'm far from being fully aware, but getting there.

Anyway, wishing a happy Balinese New Year to the people of Bali.

And all in all I think the world needs more Nyepi days.

because we live in a world that never stops talking.

Death and All His Friends

I think one of the most terrifyingly beautiful things about life, is the fact that we don't know when will be the last time that we'll be seeing each other. I came across this thought because a week ago, I lost my uncle. Even though I was not close to him, it felt pretty surreal to think that this year's CNY would be the last time that I would see him. About a month ago. I wished him a happy CNY and on Friday, I went to his wake with my cousins. It's quite surreal and shocking. But hey, it's life.

Back to my first point, I think it is terrifying because it reminds me of life's fragility and unpredictability. But at the same time, it is beautiful because it reminds me of the limited time we have in this life. The limited time we have on this planet, this world, with everything we have experienced.

Don't you find it captivating how we all live in a world, a place, in a limited time, with all of these different beliefs, cultures, traditions and even conspiracy theories? And then poof, everything comes to an end. Perhaps we will see our life rewind as we are about to leave it behind. Perhaps we will see each other again in the after life, the next life, or another life. Or maybe we won't.

Well, rest in peace uncle.