forevher

Oh wow this is ridiculous, I haven't been blogging for 3 weeks!! HAHAHA. What a way to welcome my 11th year of blogging by blogging less heh. Okay, I have my own reasons! First of all I don't have much things to blog about (as usual). And secondly yeah I've been pretty busy this month. There's always something to do at night heh. And thirdly, I just retrieved my laptop back today after sending it for servicing. Pretty stressed out when I found out I might lose all my data.

But thankfully not! I lost the apps and programs in the laptop but the servicing guy managed to shit all my data from the C drive to the D drive. I just finished moving and deleting stuff, and of course, not forgetting backing up all my essential data. That was frightening heh. I never learn my lesson for not backing up, even though I told myself to when I got my laptop last year haha.

Okay it's the last day of August and thus I will just share with you the LOADS of great music I discovered this month! Here goes, as usual, won't be talking about every song haha.

Great Music of August

- forevher by Shura (album)

- Samurai by Flecks

- Leaves by Fanclub

- Things by Louis Cole

- Playing Games by Anna of The North

- Supreme by Postiljonen

- Skying High by Postiljonen

- Southside by Wild Front

- ARAWA by Electric Youth

- Runaway by Electric Youth

Song of the month: forever and skyline, be mine by Shura

There's only one album that I was looking forward to in August and that is Shura's 2nd album, forevher! It's such an incredible album. Raw, beautiful, intimate and just pure love haha. Although I kinda prefer Nothing's Real with its upbeat songs, forevher is a whole new dimension. I've never been in a relationship but damn, this album really made me feel in love! If I can sum the album in four words, it'll be "I Am In Love" haha. Which is also a lyric from forevher!

I discovered a few new artists/bands in this month from Spotify, they are Postiljonen, Wild Front and Electric Youth. I am currently obsessed with Postiljonen's Skying High. I love how "colourful" and lively their electronic sounds are. Wild Front songs are very nice and chill, I love their combination of electronic and uhh folk? I'm not sure how to call it haha. As for Electric Youth, I just love their synths and beats. Seriously man I'm so glad I discovered them! Even though I wish I could discover them earlier haha. But well better late than never, as always right!

Alrighty that's all for this month. It's been quite a busy month, not sure why but I just feel like I'm preoccupied. I am pretty excited for September cause there are 3 album releases I'm excited for: Muna, Tegan and Sara, Bat for Lashes and Men I Trust debut album! Whoop whoop.

I hope you had an Awesome August. Here's to a Superb September everyone! Also as for my declining blog posts... I'm really considering to do blogtober haha. I'll see about it! Take care :)

Whole Food Plant Based

Black bean salad, purple yam, mushroom, dragon fruit, jack fruit

Eat them colours ya'll!

Hello! Here I am again and today I wanna share with you an interesting experience or should I say.. Experiment? That I did last month. I went Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) in July! I've been wanting to try this since I went vegetarian. Cause to in the vegan community, from the vegan nutritionists and doctors, they recommend WFPB as the healthiest diet. Yes, we can still eat unhealthily on a vegan diet. Going vegan doesn't guarantee you top notch health.

Anyway the reason why I decided to go WFPB in July is because I was eating like crap back in June haha. It was the Hari Raya holiday and yeah I eat whatever I wanna eat. I snack a lot, I drink lots of sweet drinks, eat pasta and this and that. And also I've been curious about it! But well I didn't go fully WFPB in July. There were 5 days which I stopped going WFPB (Still vegan tho) as I was out of town and it was also my birthday. So I decided to treat myself heh :P

Purple yam, black bean and lentil salad and kailan

Okay first of all what is WFPB. To put it simply it is a diet in which we eat plant based food, while keeping the food as "naturally intact" as possible (thus the word whole food). So no processed food like flour, noodles, sugary drinks etc. And also we're supposed to avoid additional sugar, oil and excessive salt. Instead of white rice we eat brown rice. For carbs we can have root vegetables and fruits and everything else. As long as it's "whole" and not processed.

So my food revolves around lots of vegetables! I rotate my carbs with cassava, sweet potato and yam. Also the past few weeks I've been eating jicamas as we were planting them and they were on harvest. For proteins I have tofu, tempe and lots of beans. Also lentils. As for fats... I don't have much of them. I know we're supposed to avoid oil but I did have deep fried tempe/tofu. Cause that's how most people have them here in restaurants. That's one of the cheat I did heh.

I am very proud of myself that I actually didn't eat white rice for the whole of July! I did eat brown rice though... Seriously I can't live without rice. Perhaps I'm too Indonesian. I also didn't drink soft drinks (AKA my beloved teh botol and Pokka green tea), but I did have... 3 soft drinks. 2 in my birthday and one while I was in Jakarta. The rest was either fruit juice and... Beer oops.

Made some lentil soup with chopped tomato

I cheated by using Marks and Spencer canned chopped tomato heh

I didn't "count" my calories. I did read like the amount of servings I should eat for beans etc. But I only stopped when I'm feeling full. And trust me on a WFPB diet, you will feel easily full! Like I would just have 2 medium sized cassava/sweet potato/yam and I'll be damn full. Most of the time I saved the rest of the food for the next day. This rarely happens when I eat rice. Usually I crave for more.

And trust me... This WFPB diet really made a difference in my body. Here's a few changes I noticed while going through this diet. It's pretty interesting! Although generally I feel normal.

1. I easily feel full, but I don't easily go hungry

This is most significant thing I noticed. I really feel easily full even though I don't seem to eat "a lot". But I don't feel hungry at all, even after hours since I last ate. And also I don't have the tendency to snack. Like usually I would go munch on things in between meals but not now baby!

2. I feel lighter

Pretty obvious I would say. I never feel bloated/full after meals. There was no lingering feeling of bloatedness/fullness in my stomach. Also hey hey I lost 3kgs from 92 to 89 whoop.

3. My mood improves

I've been reading a few articles how our gut actually plays an important role on our mental health, as there are hormones which are produced in the gut. And there are a lot of cases where people show a tremendous improvement in their mental health after going WFPB. I don't know how to explain this personally but yeah. I feel better, and my mind feels "clearer" too somehow.

4. Sadly, I might be sensitive to gluten

I might do a separate post on this but yes, I might be sensitive to gluten.

5. I enjoy my time in the toilet more mmhmm

My usual breakfast is overnight oats!

Oats, goji berries and raisins (pre-mixed) with dates, and unsweetend almond/soy milk

Now the question is will I continue WFPB...? The answer is yes and no haha. Hmm I don't think I'll continue WFPB 100% but I'm thinking of doing it like 70% of the time? My plan is to eat WFPB for breakfast and dinner. As for lunch I might or might not do it. The reason is simply because I have more ease to cook/plan my dinner than to cook for lunch heh. Since my mum and dad eat together with me. But I am definitely going to switch to be a vegan now. Whoop!

Alright that's all for this random food post. I recommend you to give WFPB a try. Even for a week, or one day a week etc. And feel the power of the plants. And the difference! Have fun :)

Blue Sky In Your Head

Thank you Lighthouse Family for giving me blue skies on my cloudy days :')

Okay so I was supposed to blog about this last month, since Lighthouse Family's new album was release in July but... Yes you know what happened haha. Anyway here goes!

So yes, Lighthouse Family (LF) released their new album after 18 years last month! This is one of the albums I am so excited about in 2019. It also took me by surprise that they're releasing new music. It all started when they changed the profile photo of their Facebook Page in March with the caption of some exciting news coming or something like that haha. I was so so excited! Cause co-incidentally I was listening to their music a lot in the last few months of 2018 (not sure why) and I was just casually wondering if they will ever release new music in the future. And 3 months later, uh huh, they are.

There was a delay for the album release but it's seriously the wait. We waited for 18 years for new music anyway! Haha. I would say it's a fantastic album. It still has that LF vibes from their previous albums, which made it seem like they never "left" at all, all these 18 years. The same feel good vibes, the same songs that will make you move and most importantly: great music to drive to! I think LF signature is that their music makes your drive more enjoyable, somehow somewhat haha.

Anyway Lighthouse Family has a special place in my heart. Here's why.

Of all the 90s bands, I got "closer" to LF in the early 2000s, when I was actually learning English to prepare for my studies to Singapore. They released their 3rd album "Whatever Gets You Through The Day" in 2001 and this album is special to me! Cause I was learning English, and thus I was learning the lyrics while I was learning the language. I remember listening to the album on the car's cassette player, while reading the album insert. It was the good old times.

Also of all the 90s bands, I enjoy LF songs more because they write songs that just make you feel good. Unlike the love anthems were chiming through the 90s, that I can never relate to (haha), LF songs hit more chords inside my heart. And they are one of the bands that I still consistently listen to throughout these 20 years or so. Because their songs can literally get you through tough times! I remember having High, Ocean Drive and Lifted in my monthly playlists in 2012, which was a tough year for me heh. And not forgetting the random days where I listen to them throughout too.

So yes, like their new album, thank you Lighthouse Family for giving me blue skies on my cloudy days!

Look ma, pa, LF reposted my photo on their Facebook page! HAHAHA

And and and... I am all over the sky (pun intended) because they actually reposted my photo on their social media pages! I was so shocked cause I was scrolling through Instagram one night when I saw my photo (the one above) on my timeline. I was like... Didn't I post this photo 2 weeks back? And when I saw that it was LF's page who posted the photo with my handle credited on it, I was so happy!

The ten year old me is happy to receive a signed copy of the album, and to have one of his favourite 90s bands use his photo on their page haha. Thank you Lighthouse Family for making me happy haha.

Alright that's all for this post. I hope you give this brilliant album a listen. And may Lighthouse Family songs give you blue skies on your cloudy days! See ya soon :)

Super 8

Can't believe it's the end of July already. Every year goes by more and more quickly, it's terrifying! Well we shouldn't be surprised actually. I think that's how time work haha. 

Anyway time to share with you lots of great new music of July!

Great Music of July:

- Blue Sky In Your Head by Lighthouse Family (Album) (after 18 years!)

- Rouge by Yuna (Album)

- Weather by Tycho (Album)

- Pictured Resort by Pictured Resort (Album)

- Fever Dream by Of Monsters and Men (Album)

- Faith by Bon Iver

- Kids In The Dark by Bat For Lashes

- Mellow Medicine by Naoko Gushima

Song of The Month: Super 8 by Lighthouse Family

So, many, new, albums in this merry month of July! Not gonna talk about everything as usual. I will write a special post about the new Lighthouse Family album tho! Coming up soon.

Tycho released his new album Weather and I think it's a great album from him after 3 years! This is also his first album with vocals in it. I find it really ridiculous how some people wrote on his album release post about how adding vocals "was a mistake" or how he should "just stick to making instrumentals". I think every artists writes their music based on the freedom that they have to pour their creative output out, and not what fans want or don't want. I was a bit apprehensive too when he released "Pink and Blue" and said that the album will have vocals. But no, the album is just another great Tycho album with melancholic, luscious and smooth instrumentals, just with vocals in it. I'm digging it! <3

Discovered Pictured Resort from an Indonesian vinyl enthusiast that I follow on Instagram! PR is an indie-pop band from Japan but I think their music has a strong city pop vibes. The album is their sophomore album and it sounds amazing! Truly reminds me of 80s city pop. So thankful that I managed to discover them from him. Thank you @mugidingdong on Instagram! :D

OMAM also released a new album (finally) called Fever Dream. It's an album that I'm excited to listen to in 2019. I think they have fresh new sounds for this album, but still the same earthy OMAM energy that they carry in their music. Some of my favourites from the album is Wars, Stuck in Gravity, Vulture Vulture. I read from their page that they just have a new studio made and thus they're experimenting with new sounds etc. I hope I can catch them in this new album tour.

New songs from Bon Iver and Bat for Lashes made me feel excited for their new albums coming out later in this year too! And I'm exicted for Shura's new album next month whoop whoop.

Alright that's all for this month's great music. 4 more months to dicovering new music. I hope July had been treating you well. Here's me wishing you an Awesome August! Take care and see ya.

Where You Are

So as I mentioned in a previous post, a month ago my dad had a fall and it was quite bad that he needed some stitching. After 2 weeks his stitching was removed and now we're just waiting for the wound to heal and dry up! I think he might remove the plaster tomorrow whoop whoop.

I wanna talk about something quite... Interesting? That happened on that night where my dad fell.

Okay so my dad fell when he was bathing. Usually I would also bathe as he bathes, and I'll go back to my room to shower. On that night, as usual, I went back to my room to bathe. I grabbed my towel and just as I was about to enter the bathroom, I stepped on hmm okay I'm not sure what to call it in English. But you know termites would eat up wood and they would dig the wood, and threw out the chewed up wood outside. So yes, I stepped on those wood diggings from them.

I was felling annoyed because actually a few hours before, I was clearing up some termite diggings on the same exact spot. So before I went inside the bathroom, I went to clear that spot. Took some tissues and clear them slowly. As I was clearing them, that's when I heard a loud thud and my dad shouting. I quickly went to my house's bathroom and that's when I found my dad sitting on the toilet floor, with blood on the floor. I was so shocked! But when he replied to my mum and I, and even stood up again after that, I knew he's okay (I thought he was going unconscious or something).

So yeah can you imagine if those termite diggings were not there as I was about to step inside my bathroom? Can you imagine if I didn't step on them and just went to bathe as per normal? Well eventually I found out that he's okay (despite the torn skin). But if I were to bathe straight away, I wouldn't be able to respond to my dad's calling quickly. And yeah, things could go awry.

This whole incident reminds me of the story about how some people survived 9/11 because of "unfortunate" events that happened to them before work. How some people woke up late because of a faulty alarm, cause of a car that won't start, and because it was his turn to get coffee for the office. And the end of the article says something along the line of: the next time you are stuck in an unpleasant situation, be aware that you're supposed to be here in this very moment.

So yeah even though I was annoyed that the termite diggings made their way back to my room, I am glad that they gave me some time to clean them up, so that I can respond to my dad's fall.

I'd like to close this post with one of my favourite quotes by Robin Esrock from his TedTalk:

"Where you are, is where you're supposed to be"

Vegan Festival Indonesia 2019

Vegan Festival Indonesia 2019 at Mall Taman Anggrek

Not only did I go for We The Fest last weekend, I also went to this year's Vegan Festival Indonesia at Mall Taman Anggrek with Chris! Felt lucky to have the festival happening in the same weekend as WTF. I've always wanted to go for the festival but I couldn't make it last year as it clashed with something. So it was a great opportunity I guess. But seriously, you have to go for at least 2 days because there were too many food options to try! I only managed to try a few.

Or to be exact, just 4 food for me in the festival hahaha.

First up we have Bakmi Ahuat! This is one of the best, or probably the best vegan bakmi I've eaten. Although to be frank it tasted different from the one I ate last year straight from the shop. But I think it still tastes awesome. Also kudos to the organiser for choosing banana leaves on top of plates instead of just plastic containers. They actually encouraged the visitors to bring their own containers. I did bring mine to bring home some vegan cakes haha. Cake reviews later in the post :P

Next up with have ivegan pizza. They're a famous vegan pizza restaurant in Jakarta and I've been wanting to try their pizza! But like I said above, after Bakmi Ahuat I was so full already that I just tried one of their flavours - which is the smoked beef. Man, finally I can eat pizza without worrying that I'll get a pimple breakout from the dairy products like cheese haha. The pizza tastes good. The smoked "beef" really have a nice smoky flavour. I think I need to visit them again :)

For dessert we have Icekim, which is a vegan ice cream shop/producer, made using almond milk! I did try their ice cream at Dharma Kitchen last time. Haven't tried their green tea flavour and it's really nice and creamy! I don't really like the "weird" taste that some vegan ice cream have, especially when it's made using almond milk. But Icekim ones taste just like a normal ice cream! Creamy, not too sweet, and the green tea flavour hits the spot too. Not too strong nor too weak.

Special mention goes to Burger Vegtory for their mushroom burger! I had the black pepper burger which was made using a breaded mushroom. It tastes alright, just that I find it a tad too salty.

I bought home some vegan cakes from Rumah Juliet, which is a vegan patisserie in Jakarta and oh my goodness they taste so good! I bought some for my mum (thankfully they have gluten free options) and siblings. I haven't had cakes in a long time and wow their cakes are so awesome! Love the brownies and the doughnuts too. Especially the cinnamon one. The chocolate doughnut is also awesome. I need to visit them again and try more. I wish I can buy each of their cakes from the festival hahaha.

Alright that's all for the Vegan Festival Indonesia! Had such a lovely Saturday with Chris eating and also catching up on life over lunch at Common Grounds Coffee after the festival. Thank you for the book! Hope to see you again soon in the near future. And I hope I can go for the 2020 Vegan Festival Indonesia. It's like the only place I can eat my heart out without worrying that it's not vegan heh :P

We The Fest 2019!

Yearly escapism of the mind. Thank you We The Fest

I think We The Fest has become a yearly affair for me, now that I've went for 3 consecutive years! Although as usual I just went for one day haha. Can't really afford to go for three days. Well now it's become a July event (2017 one happened in August) and I've been taking it as a birthday present for myself haha. This year's lineup was quite okay, even though I couldn't manage to catch all the acts I wanted to see. I went for day one this time round, cause there are 3 acts I wanna see!

Two are artists that I've been wanting to see for almost 5 years! They are Alvvays and Jai Wolf. 

Anyway I went for the festival at 7 PM ish this time cause Alvvays and Jai Wolf were playing at night. As usual I walked around the festival ground to see the layout and everything. Very important cause I'm moving between stages haha. I ate some food before the festival cause I knew there won't be any vegan option. And I was right! Sort of. There's a juice bar there hahaha.

All the way from Canada, Alvvays!

Alright so the first band that I caught was Alvvays and oh my goodness I am finally seeing them live after 5 years! And damn their set was so so good. I had a good time dancing and singing to their songs. Thankfully they played quite a few songs from their first album, which is one of my favourite albums from 2014. The crowd was awesome too, we were all rocking to their music. Had a great time rocking it out with Next of Kin which was their closing song. So good!

I was literally on a juice cleanse guys haha

Next I walked around the festival ground while waiting for Jai Wolf set which was 1 hour later after Alvvays' set. As there was no vegan option, I went to drink a few bottles of juice from the juice bar haha. So I was literally on a juice cleanse! And of course not forgetting the beer too.

Jai Wolf bringing us on an epic journey

Next up was Jai Wolf, and he's one of my favourite electronic music producers that I discovered from his song Indian Summer back in 2015! I've been wanting to see him live and whew his set was so mind blowing. Before his set he said to us: Jakarta are you ready to go on a journey? And boy he did really bring us on an epic journey! I can feel his passion and his pulse moving through his whole set. And to close the set with Indian summer was truly such an ethereal experience. 

Thank you so so much for coming to Jakarta. I hope to see you again one day!

I'm living for your every move, Troye

And... Surprise surprise. The gay gods have blessed me to see Troye Sivan Live TWICE this year! Yup he's the 3rd artist I wanted to see in WTF. But meh the rundown times was quite bad. His set started during Jai Wolf set so I only managed to catch 1/3rd of this set. But it's okay! I did catch him live in Singapore with Brenda and I had a good time dancing with the Indonesian crowd whoop!

Alright that's all for this year's WTF. Well I think I'm getting old for music festivals haha. Okay I'll write another post for this. But yes I had a great Friday at WTF last week. It's always good to lose yourself to music sometimes. And to go to a place where the music is louder than the noise in your head.