In 2015...

 Thank you

Right! It's the dawn of the last day of the year. Can you fucking believe it! 365 days of the year just went by like a snap of a finger. It feels like yesterday when 1/1/15 just happened. I can still remember on the first day of the year, I got so hungover from finishing a bottle of wine by myself, that I spent it on my bed trying to get rid of my nausea and headache haha. I will not let history repeat itself.

2015 has been a very weird year for me. To be honest, turning 23 felt weird. It is such a funny and confusing age when I think about it. I feel like it's the "midpoint" of our life between leaving our youth and becoming an adult. Feels like I'm too young to make decisions, yet the world is asking me to make them. When I do make them, I'm filled with doubts, and when I don't, I'm filled with doubts too.

Let's go back to day one of the year. 2015 was a blank page for me. A blank page of a book without lines on it. It was a huge blank canvas. I didn't know what to expect in this year, and neither was I expecting things in this year. I mean unlike in 2014, I was so eager and determined to go to Iceland. So at least there was something that I look forward to plan, and turn it into a realisation. 

I didn't even have any resolutions, unlike 2014. Well I did have one, it was only one. I want to make 2015 a year of organisation. Cause I feel like 2014 was rather "messy" for me so I was really trying to plan things out so that things become more organised and easier to handle. I was also aspiring to improve the flower business, since we increased our population back in November 2014 and March 2015. So there were a few things we have to sort out as well. Which as of today, I think we've achieved!

I only wrote my 3rd resolution of day-83 of the year. My 3rd resolution is to "study" Buddhism. I want to get to know this religion of mine better. Which I did! I spent a few months reading up articles about Buddhism and jot them down in this book of mine. Although by mid-May, I realised Buddhism is not a religion you "study" and read, but a religion that you have to put into practice (just like every other religions I suppose). So I kinda stopped this resolution midway. 

But now I've been putting them into practice. Not in a most wonderful way, but slowly, I will get there. Cause I really want to walk on the path of the Buddha. Slowly, but surely.

So yup, I only had 3 resolutions this year. I failed the 2nd one, which was to do small exercises everyday. I stopped after my Aus trip. I think working out is just not my forte. But anyway I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad that my weird on 1st of Jan this year, and my weight as of today is the same. Happy cause it means I didn't gain weight, but also sad cause I didn't lose any :l

I'm not sure if this is a good method; not having any resolution at the beginning of this year, but building them up as the year goes by. But I can definitely ensure you that it's a great way to achieve all of your resolutions. Because you will work towards them step by step. And you won't be "burdened" by loads of resolutions at the beginning of the year which might turn you off halfway.

2015 was a weird year for me too cause it is the year that sort of opened my eyes really big, reminding me that "hello we have all grown up now!". Seeing my parents, my siblings (who are all married now), my cousins and the people around me, make me really sad to know that we've all grown up. Well we can't stay as kiddos forever. But it just feels so bizarrely weird. My cousins are working adults now, who are working out of town, or running their shops and so on. It's so weird.... But beautiful.

It really sort of woke me up. It made me think and feel more "rationally" as adults, and no longer as someone young who loves to have fun. Part of me doesn't want to become an adult but part of me is excited to know the things that I might be doing in the future. Well, here's a cheer for our bright future!

365 days ago, on the eve of 2015, I thanked 2014 for whatever that had happened in that year. Because 2015 is going to be a great year because of all of these things that had happened. The lessons I've learned, the people I've met, the things that happened and things that didn't have definitely shaped who I am as a person today. And I'm always thankful for that. 

I used to have this habit of "labeling" my year. It was a good/bad/so-so/normal/adventurous/exciting year and so on. But in 2014 and 2015, I actually ran out of words to "label" my year. 2014 was a serendipitous year for me. But I couldn't "label" it as a good or bad year. And I share the same sentiment for 2015. I do however, feel that 2015 was a better year! Cause of what I said above.

I suppose as we grow up, we no longer see a year as a period of time of 365 days. I think I see it as a milestone. Sort of a check point to see what we have done so far. The good, the bad and so on. And well like I said, it is the things that happened in the year that really shaped us as a person. You can let these things destroy you, or make you into a stronger and better person.

You see, I think I'm going to stop labeling the years as a good, bad or normal year. I am going to believe that every new year, is going to be the best year I'm going to have in my life. I am going to make the things that happened in this year shape me into a better person, who will then make the coming year a better year than before. And I am going to continue doing this till I die. To a point where I get better every year, as a human being. If I believe that everyday is a good day, some days are better, I'm going to put this into the context of the year too. 

I've always believed that one day life is going to force you to live in the present. I suppose this is such moment for me? I'm going to stop worrying about the future and clings less to the past. Let's just make every new year, the best year that we are going to have in life. The year where we can share our hopes and determination with other people. Where we can help ourselves and help other people to have better lives, and really alleviate them from their suffering. 

On the other hand, the world has suffered enough in this year as well. And every night I always pray for everyone's happiness and safety. We cannot lose hope. We must always believe in love! I don't know what life has in store for the world next year. But I hope we can all be nicer to one another, help one another and make this world a better place before all of us leave our bodies eventually.

Whew, 2015. What a year you have been. Thank you for everything you have given me, taken away from me, taught me, made me forget, reminded me, and so on. Because you are someone who will help me make 2016 a great and awesome year. And I hope we can make 2016 a better year ahead. 

I hope you had a wonderful 2015. And I wish you all the best for the new year.

See you next year!

2015 Rewind

It's the second last day of the year, and it's time to do a rewind! Just a look back on the memorable and awesome things that happened in this year. Whew, 2015 is coming to an end real soon. It is the fastest year I've ever been in. Oh well, here goes! In chronological order that is. 

We've both grown up :P

My cousin got married back in January and it is definitely a memorable trip to Pekanbaru with my family! This cousin of mine whom I once spent a lot of time playing with together (with my cousins and sister) is married now! She just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl as well, who is such a cute baby haha. Somehow this trip is a reminder for me again, that time is flying so quickly.

My cheeky nephew on his birth day this year!

My cheeky nephew turned one in January as well! Seeing him grown from day 0 up till now is kind of an amazing journey. It's the first time in my life that I'm close with a baby and where I watch him grow. He's a cheeky and naughty (almost 2 year old) boy who has learned how to walk and is now uttering words (in a very cute way). Can't wait to see him grown up! He's attending playgroup next year. 

Cap go meh

Cap Go Meh (or Ji-it meh) was also another memorable day for me. It was my first time attending this procession in a very very long time. It's pretty heart warming to see the spirit of the community in this day. People carrying the deities' sedan, taking turns to carry and so on. Makes me really proud to be someone who comes from this humble town. Looking forward to next year's procession! 

Record Store Day 2015!

Another memorable event was Record Store Day 2015! It's my first RSD and I loved it. Seeing people, who like me, share the passion and belief that music still needs a physical manifestation, gather together in this event felt really awesome. I'm proud to discover such a community in my country, and I will definitely go for each RSD from now onwards! Especially since I own a vinyl player now hah.

You dream of a place that you can never see

My trip to Australia, AKA my project wanderlust 2015, is definitely a highlight of the year! My goal in life is to set my feet on every continent of this world. I've been wanting to go to Aussie and I'm glad I did! Although to be honest I wish I can stay longer there. Nevertheless, special thanks again to Candy, Vithya and Yiyin for being awesome hosts in Brisbane! And to Jesslyn and Candy for being wonderful travel partner in my Melbourne leg of the journey. I will never forget our trip to the Great Ocean Road. 

WSATCC Konser Di Cikini

Unlike 2014, I didn't manage to attend lots of gigs. In fact I only went to one, which is White Shoes and The Couples Company konser di Cikini. Which was definitely a night I will remember for life. I've been wanting to go for their concert and I'm glad that I booked the ticket way before the concert cause it was sold out very quickly haha. They are definitely my favourite Indonesian band. And I hope they will release a new album soon or something. Hoping to catch them live again as well! 

Thanks for coming lovelies!

Having Brenda and Jeslyn came over to my hometown for a weekend back in November was definitely a memorable weekend of the year too! Trekking to Curug Cibereum is definitely my adventure of the year. It's so exciting, exhilirating and... Tiring. A beat freaky too especially when we found out the stream we were suppose to cross became uncrossable haha. Thank you for spending your weekend with me, in my humble hometown! I hope we can travel together again some day :D

Officially the unmarried child of the family HAHA

Last but not least, my sister's wedding is also another memorable day of the year. A tad sad too, knowing this sister of mine whom I've spent a lot of time with is now a married lady. But well, life goes on! A bit stressed out as well cause it means that I'm the only unmarried child of the family haha. And everyone's asking "when is your turn". Oh dear, I'll reply them, kapan kapan! (Someday)

Yup these are some of the awesome things that happened in 2015. I'm sure there are more happy and great things that happened but these are the major ones. Business wise, we're doing well in this year as compared to 2014. Lots of improvements, and also I did achieve my resolution which was to tidy up the documentation and readings of the sales and stuff. I still think that I have room for improvements and I will always try to get better and better in the coming year! 

There's no other way to go but uuuuppppp!

My meditation is doing well in this year too. I'm going to try and improve my meditation sessions everyday next year. I don't know why but I still feel that I'm lacking something heh. I will never stop this practice of mine. It has helped me a lot and I definitely one to have its benefits envelope my life and make me a better person. Do try meditation if you can alright! It helps a lot for me. 

Alright I guess that's all for this post. I'm going to blog on another post about my thoughts and feelings I have about this year, and my hopes and aspirations for the next! See ya :)

Great Music of 2015

It's the end of the year once again, and just like last year I'm going to share with you the awesome music I've discovered in this year! I must say that 2015 is kind of a great year for music? Lots of wonderful albums, and I also discovered lots of great bands and artists in 2015. 

Hmm I don't even know where to start. Okay lets begin with the list of artists/bands I discovered in this year. This is quite a long list but here goes! In no particular order.

Great artists/bands discovered:

[] Favela [] Years and Years [] Szymon [] Day Wave [] Hazel English [] Prep [] Oh Wonder 

[] Marco Marche [] Rhye [] Grimes [] A Silent Film [] Woman's Hour [] Stars and Rabbit [] SOAK

[] Mideau [] Say Lou Lou [] Danilla [] Rhodes [] Aquilo [] Yumi Zouma [] Aurora [] Jess Glynne

PS: Sorry for the weird way to list, trying to save space! :P

I want to say a special thank you to YouTube for letting me discover most of these great and talented people! Well I do discovered some from Soundcloud as well. And also thank you to Brenda for introducing Years and Years and Aquilo to me! Cause I really love Years and Years haha. I discovered Oh Wonder last year actually, but only started listening to their monthly-released songs since January.

Alright let's move on to the best albums of the year! Similarly in no particular order

Great albums of 2015:

- How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence and The Machine

- Before We Forget How to Dream by SOAK

- Beneath The Skin by OMAM

- Oh Wonder by Oh Wonder

- Tigersapp by Chvrches

- Communion by Years and Years

- The Chopin Project by Olafur Arnalds and Alice Sara Ott

- Every Open Eye by Chvrches

- Tigersapp by Szymon

- Dark Sky Islands by Enya

- 25 by Adele

- A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay

- Artangels by Grimes

Best album of the year: Tigersapp by Szymon and Every Open Eye by Chvrches 

Sorry I have to give it a tie cause I really love both albums hahaha. I just discovered Szymon this year and I truly fell in love with his music right away, when I gave his album a full listen. As for EOE, I'm a huge fan of Chvrches and I really feel that this is a wonderful and beautiful sophomore album from them. They've been teasing us with some songs and when the album came out, boom. I just love their songs from their new album so much! I really hope that I can see them on their next tour live :D

Okay last but not least, here are some of my favourite songs from this year, in no particular order:

Great songs of 2015

[] Easy Yoke by Favela [] White Light and 2Shy by Shura [] Golden by Szymon

[] Clearest Blue by Chvrches [] Cheapest Flight by Prep [] Heart Hope by Oh Wonder

[] Realiti by Grimes [] The Brae by Yumi Zouma [] Sea Creatures by Soak

[] When We Were Young by Adele [] A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay [] King by Y&Y

[] Diamonds On The Water by Enya [] Runaway by Aurora [] Senja dan Mentari by Marco Marche

[] Drag by Day Wave [] It's Not Real by Hazel English [] Hold my Hand by Jess Glynne

Best song of the year: White Light by Shura 

Okay I actually discovered more music and artists than the list above. But if I were to list down everything err it's gonna take a very long time and I'm very lazy hahaha. But anyway if there's one song that's been in my playlist most of the time in this year, it would be Shura's White Light! Although it was released in July, I've been spamming this song on Soundcloud and Youtube haha. I am so excited for 2016 cause Shura's going to release her album! Not sure when, but I will wait for you~ Oh and Aurora is releasing her debut album as well, which I've preordered! Can't wait for it :D

Yup so this is my list of music discovery in this year! Feeling really awesome because I have discovered lots of music in this year hehe. Awesome, great music! I am excited and eager to discover more music in the coming new year! And trust me, YouTube is an awesome place to discover music really. Anyway I'm excited for a few bands/artists whom I think are going to release their new album next year! Like Empire of The Sun, One Republic and Low Roar.

And perhaps some new material from Sigur Ros.

Alright that's all for now. Thank you 2015 for the beautiful music, I'm ready for more in 2016! :)

I really can't, and don't want to imagine what my life would be without music.

Happy (belated) Record Store Day!

"Who needs a boyfriend when you have a record collection"

First of all, wishing you a belated Happy Record Store Day! So on the third Saturday in the month of April, the whole world celebrates Record Store Day (RSD) which is a day in which different artists release special releases in a physical format. Be it in the form of vinyl, CD and even cassette. And also to me, it is a day of celebration for people who believe that music still needs a physical manifestation!

Although RSD happened on Saturday, I'm so sorry but I just have the chance to blog about it now!

This is my first time participating in an RSD. Last year I wanted to to but I was having something on that day so I couldn't go for it. This year I am determined to go for it because I've been wanting to experience it! Although I myself don't have a vinyl player, and all I'm looking for in RSD is CDs, which I think is fine too. It is still a physical format for music. Besides there are many booths participating and majority of them are selling CDs too.

So I left my hometown in the morning for RSD Indonesia which takes place at Bara Futsal Building in Kemang, Southern Jakarta. I was feeling really excited as I came with a list of CDs I am looking for. And I was also trying my luck in finding great albums that I chanced upon.

Happy digging!

There were lots of booths from various record stores and music stores and they were selling a lot of albums, mostly in the form of vinyls (duh!). But they also sell CDs and cassette tapes, and some booths specialise in only CDs. I love the feel and the vibe of the whole event. I find it very intimate, raw and communal. The camaraderie of the whole place is beautiful, it is indeed a place where people who share the same passion mix and mingle together, you can feel the love everywhere.

I was just digging through the piles of CDs from the different booths. The first one I went to was the booth from Kedai Musik - which is a shop I've been following on Instagram haha. It feels kinda awesome to meet the man behind that shop (although we don't know each other heh). In his booth I discovered Deep Forest's Boheme album!!! I have been looking for this album for years, back when I first discovered them. HMV doesn't have them, the different CD shops I went to don't have them either. Contemplated to get it through Amazon but they no longer ship to Indonesia. So when I discovered the album I just took it and keep it safe hah. I mean... I'm preventing other buyers from taking it hahaha.

My haul

Anyway here are the CD haul I got from yesterday's RSD:
- Bjork's Vulnicura
- Lightcraft's Colours of Joy
- Payung Teduh's Dunia Batas
- Deep Forest's Boheme

Bjork released her new album this year and I've been looking to get a physical copy of it! So much raw and beautiful emotions in this album. Such a heart-raising album, I wanna see her live one day.

Lightcraft is an Indonesian Indie band and I actually discovered them yesterday while they were performing live. I was about to leave the event when they started playing. Their opening song totally caught my ears and I went back all the way to the other end of the building to catch their performance. I asked one of their personnel who was standing near the stage if I can get their album and she kindly brought me to a booth that sells their album. Thank you for your help! You have a new fan :)

I discovered Payung Teduh back in 2012 I think... I know I was definitely still back in Singapore when I saw one of their videos on Youtube. I thought hey, I will find their album when I'm back in Indonesia but boy I was wrong, their album is nowhere to be found hah. Everyone was looking for their album as it was made a limited number of copies I think. So I was determined to look for it in RSD and I'm so glad I did! They are an awesome band, and I love how chill and "cooling" their music is. Definitely the kind of song you wanna play on a rainy day, or late nights. Definitely a great Indonesian band!

Isn't this too pretty

I also bought this notebook with a Sigur Ros Takk cover printed on wood covers! It is such an exquisite notebook and my notebook fetish just boils strongly inside and I was like... I have to buy this. So I burned a hole in my wallet and got it. But it's cool, cause well the lady said they only made this specially for RSD so I'll take it as a memoir keepsake too. I'm still drooling over it now.

Anyway all in all, I truly love my first Record Store Day experience. It is a day where we take our pride in owning physical forms of music - physical manifestations of music. During my experience in RSD Indonesia, I chatted with a few different people. Some of them asked me what CDs I was looking for, what genres I like and stuff. I realised that we all share one love - of owning physical forms of music. For example I met this guy who has been looking for Payung Teduh's album but had no luck (oops I bought it already haha). And then there was also the owner of Kedai Musik who was offering me some CDs who will definitely become a rarity in the future.

So I realised one thing - even know deeply I know that the CD industry is dying slowly, it is still something that people are looking for. And knowing that I owned quite a number of CDs made me feel "special", knowing that in the future, other people might be looking for what I have been owning for years. And this is what makes owning physical forms of music so unique and so awesome. As the year goes by, the value of your albums will increase. Well maybe it's not that much for CDs but definitely for vinyls. Although I know in the future, the number of people who are actually still looking for physical forms of music is going to decrease. Or well, I hope it is going to increase!

I have been collecting CDs and albums for as long as I can remember. I can still remember back in primary school, I would spend my hard-saved cash on two things - Lego and CDs. I remember back in P6, I went to HMV with my sister and they were having a sale promotion. Like buying three CDs (of this special rack) for the price of 21 bucks. One of the albums I got was this compilation of different instrumental music, mostly by Japanese arists. Believe it or not, some of the music that I bought back then is still inside my iPod now. And of course, I still have the CD with me.

Record Store Day is a pretty special day for me. To be surrounded by people who share the same passion as you, to meet like-minded people in terms of owning physical forms of music, and to be hopeful for the future of this industry. I am definitely coming back next year, and if you are interested, you can start collecting the CDs of your favourite musicians as well :)