June 30, 2015

Yesterday, I plan to make myself tired by walking around the city :p
And today, I did!

I walked from home, all the way to Flinders Street, while also visiting beautiful, small lanes in between Swanston & Elizabeth street.

I was sooo amazed by this beautiful city! Even though I was walking quite a few blocks, I did not feel the tiredness but instead just wanting to go further :D

I 'rewarded' myself by visiting this smoothie place my friend told me about. Their smoothie was good! So happy with it :)
I ordered the Strawberry Shortcake, filled with dates, banana, cashew (i think), and of course, strawberry. Although the strawberry flavor was not as strong as I'd like, it was sweet and balanced ^^
Perfect to re-fill my energy for the way home!

Here's some picts I snapped during the way :)

A performer and his statue friends
on Bourke Street

 

Hopetoun Tea Rooms cakes display!
So tempting!

The Flinders Station :)

Five Plus Smoothie,
Lt. Lonsdale

 

Lovely Carlton Gardens

Royal Exhibition Building

June has been quite nerve-wrecking as the exams were held in this month,
but I had lots of beautiful reminiscence from last year's #SM14 !
Can you believe it was 1 year ago? Ugh I missed all my mates so much !


July will be lots of fun, tho!
Family time as my family is coming over to Melbourne! :D:D
And around 11 days of holiday still,  it will be awesome!

Cheers, June!


-*^^*-

Filosofi Kopi !

Seperti biasa, Dee Lestari sukses membuatku senyum-senyum atau galau setelah membaca karyanya!

Dengan format yang mirip dengan Madre, FilKop dipenuhi cerita pendek dan prosa yang walaupun singkat, nancep dan berhasil menggambarkan sebuah situasi yang jauh lebih besar.

Favoritku -- justru bukan cerita Filosofi Kopi itu sendiri, walaupun cerita itu keren juga! :D
(Kopi Tiwus --> jadi penasaran akan aroma dan rasanya :) )
Aku super suka sama chapter Surat yang Tak Pernah Sampai. Bisa bikin nangis kalau disertai atmosfer yang tepat. Serius.
'Selagi Kau Lelap' juga jadi chapter yang berkesan. Sederhana, tapi emosinya tepat, ditambah permainan kata Dee yang selalu impressive.

Bila boleh 'dibandingkan' dengan cerpen Madre sebagai 2 cerita yang menjadi judul bukunya, aku lebih suka cerpen Madre. Entah kenapa. Sepertinya Filosofi Kopi agak terkesan 'terburu-buru', (atau mungkin memang lebih pendek?) dibanding Madre yang took its time to progress, dan memuat lebih banyak fun trivia.

Secara keseluruhan, FilKop menurutku lebih filosofis, sedangkan Madre lebih dipenuhi cerita. Keduanya wajib dibaca untuk pecinta karya Dee! :D

Nggak hanya cerita-cerita yang menyentuh, beberapa juga cheeky, membuat terkaget-kaget dan tertawa, tapi juga masih menjaga momentum menghasilkan simpati. Ada alasan kenapa Dee dipanggil 'Ibu Suri'.


Filosofi Kopi dibawakan kepadaku jauh-jauh dari Semarang oleh sebuah keluarga yang sedang berlibur di Melbourne :D THANKS A LOT :D
Sengaja disimpan sekitar 5 hari (karena masih ujian), dan jadi hadiah perayaan akhir exam week yang super special! :D

Dee,
I can't wait for IEP, dan semua karya yang akan mengikuti! ^^

Cheers!
-*^^*-

June 28, 2015

Week 10, a.k.a. Exam Week is OVER !!! :D:D

Ohh how I'm SUPER happy that the exams are over :):)
The exams weren't all good, so I'm still very nervous for the results, but I'm just glad that I have the 2 weeks off before another term 3, that's going to be super tough too.

This week I did a lot of cooking at home, since I really didn't have anything to do except studying (which I only did for 1-2 hours-ish per day :p) and sleeping and eating! :p

And, the end of the exams are marked with a delish dinner with a friend at a nearby Italian place, which is yum ad has a good Tiramisu! Which is dangerous, cuz now I know where to get one when I'm craving for it x_x

I tried poaching pears with some tea yesterday, and fell in love with the spices + cinnamon sugar that I added :p
AND this morning, I went across town to the Arts Center to grab some poffertjes :p
I miss those little guys, and it was YUM! Especially since I bought the ones drenched with Nutella ^^

This coming weeks are going to be AWESOME! :D
It's holiday time! Time to sit back and relax ^^

I might do some book reviews, as last week some friends from Semarang brought me some new books that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!! ^^

I might go to the beach this week as well.. Going to the beach during winter times are not usually a good choice, but I can't help it! It's just a tram ride away!
Well, we'll see!

Right'o!
Time to sleep, dream some more, and have fun! ^^


CHEERS!
-*^^*-

S1-T2-W09 !!

Week 9 of college was nerve-wrecking, as it was the last week before the official exam week BUT we already had 1 exam in the end of the week (on Sat) which was a MATHS exam T_T *cry in horror*

BUT thank God I think I did quite well. At least I’ll pass my required mark :p:p high hopes!

This next week (Week 10) will be an exciting one! :D It is indeed an exam week with 4 exams to conquer, but with so many spare times I can do so many things, like not-studying *:p* and READING! ^^

One family of IFGF Semarang came to visit Melbourne *and me ^^ * and treated me with lotsa food, and brought some things from home for me, including Indo books I asked my sister to hunt down for me HAHA! And Abon! Which will be yum with some congee!! :D:D

I just can’t wait for the exam to be over with and for me to start devouring delish books ^^ and also delish food!!!

I had some food-related fun this week, including dinner with my iCare’s girls *only 5 of us :p *, having fish & chips for lunch yesterday after exam, and 2 days of ‘roti bakar’-somewhat which remind me of home and were SO good. Urgh, I think I’m picking up weight.

Alritey, can’t write too much as I have to go to sleep.

9:30 exam tomorrow, wish me all the best!

I’ll try to pop in & write some more this week
:’)

cheers!

-*^^*-

Oh-my week 8! :D

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!
Because here I am, at the end of week 8!!!! :D:D:D
Which means,
1 more week of school,
1 more week of exam,
and, voila!! My first official semester in college is DONE ^^

SOOOOO EXCITED!!! :D:D:D

Although there are lots of things I'd like to change, things I wish are different,
but I'm so thankful for this first semester.
The past month had been crazy with assignments, but by God's grace I'm able to finish them off one by one, and now I'm only left with very few & ready to prepare for the upcoming exam :)

Today, after enjoying 'healty-fied' indomie for lunch (:p), I spoiled myself with a HUGE dessert to celebrate the end of the week --> 2 scoops of gelato! ^^
Bailey's & hazelnut crunch with chocolate pieces :p:p
SO indulgent, so good. Perfect in this 18degree day.

THIS is why I love weekends :p a chance to spoil myself with yummy things! :p

But tonight, I'll begin to lock myself in my room, and put my heads down,
because, it is 1 WEEK to go before my first exam next Saturday!


YAY! :D:D:D:D
Exams, bring it on!!!

CHEERS!!!
-*^^*-

More food :p

Queen's Birthday for me was celebrated with more food! :p

FIRST UP!
A walnut & apple scroll from Baker's Delight ^^
SO YUM!
Look at that icing on top! And the walnut was just so crunchy, which complements the soft apple on the inside :):)

Perfect accompaniment for the hard work I was doing x_x :p






NEXT,
A sausage & zucchini one pot pasta :)
Recipe adapted from laurainthekitchen & sortedfood! :)
Super easy, quick, and YUM! :D
Such a winter warmer :)







Back Home,
My family is celebrating my grandma's birthday with a feast!
Ugh. Although my pasta food is so yum, look at those food!!!
The soup, fu yung hai, fried burung dara :p:p
I miss eating all those deliciousness, but moreover, I miss the people around that table :')





Lots more food coming up in the coming weeks hopefully! :D
Esp when me familia come to town!!

Later!


Cheers!
-*^^*-

Weekend of week 7

So after the yumalicious starbucks hot chocolate + mini dumplings on Saturday afternoon, I devoured some more beautiful delicacies during my weekend!


First up, a little piece of home,
Bubur Manado + a whole lot of chilli sauce!!! :D:D:D
It reminded me so much of home: the smell, the taste, urgh!!
My grandmother usually made it for us, and it's usually eaten with ikan asin :)
And coincidentally, yesterday was my grandmom's birthday! :D
So happy birthday to her :) See you super soon, Mak! :D







And then! Some more yummy hot chocolate for yesterday's super windy day.
Yesterday Melbourne had a crazy weather. Like, CRAZY!
It was dry, fortunately, but the wind was blowing heavily! It made walking hard enough, and made the temperature drop. And without a tram working on Swanston Street, it made going home so hard :(
But before I had to fight to get back home (:p:p), me and a few mates got to enjoy yummy
Max B! :D



I got the Italian Thick white chocolate, and it delivered! It was super thick, very warming, but very sweet indeed :)
Yum!! :D




Today I'm having ONE day off, which feels like HEAVEN :D:D
The country is celebrating 'Queen's Birthday', although it's not her actual birthday.....
But it's okay!
Because that means ONE day off before 3 more weeks of HARD WORK,
but of course, 2 weeks of holiday will follow :D:D


OH I SO CAN'T WAIT! ^^

CHEERS!
-*^^*-

Inspirations!

I believe that inspiration is all around us!

The inspiraton to be creative, the inspiration to achieve something, but most importantly, the inspiration to make a difference.

These past few months I've been watching "Mata Najwa" week in and week out, almost 2x a week.
Man, that show is GOOD!!
Najwa Shihab is such an inspirational journalist. She's brave, curious, but she can also bring us along the emotion ride & feel empathy for whoever she's talking to.
She and the format of the show makes even the most boring topics interesting, and the most annoying people becomes a deep source of knowledge.
I've learned a lot; I've met so many different people I didn't even know exist before through the show. I learned so many things about my own country from sides & perspective that is just so positive & encouraging, but at the same time still critical and sharp. Mata Najwa is the one show that makes me miss home soo much, and makes me laugh and cry at the same time, filled with pride and earnest hope for Indonesia.

This show inspired me to be courageous & make a difference, to be proud of the rich culture of Indonesia, and to--one day--give back to my country and build my country.

I loveee almost every single guests she brought to the show.
But my absolute inspiration got to be Former President BJ Habibie :):)
He's an inspiration in so many different level, and he's the person that 'convinces' me, in a way, that studying abroad doesn't mean you don't love Indonesia. You go and study, learn as much as you can, then go back home & apply what you've learned to make Indonesia a better place :)

Another favorite guest is Anies Baswedan. When the 2 sat together and converse, something magical just happen.


And my absolute favorite episode of Mata Najwa is the 5th anniversay of the show. MAN! HILARIOUS, but rich at the same time! Especially with the President & Vice President of Indonesia coming to the show, another former president & vice president present, some artist that are just passionate about Indonesia, it was by far One Epic Episode :)


I hope the show will continue to run for many years to come, and continue to change Indonesia for the better, one inpspirational episode at a time!


Cheers!
-*^^*-

T2W7 -- Whaatt?

Has it really been another week?

WOW! :D:D

Only 3 more weeks to go! ^^
Although that means assignment dues and exams, that also means HOLIDAY & VACATION, and I can't wait ^^


This week I've been having random thoughts and dreams, as I have leisure time, which is so nice! :)

BUT,
the weather is not very friendly x_x
it got SO cold during the week, and when it rains it gets even colder :'(

However the weather is getting better during the weekend so it's good :D

i've also been snacking so much, too much I'm afraid!
I gotta stop eating all these junk food! But unfortunately it's the only thing that keeps me focused x_x grrr!


This afternoon, after a support lecture & before starting my studies for the day, I went to the city to get my self 2 steamed dumplings & a hot choccie ^^
SO HAPPY ^^
I miss steamed buns so much!!!!! x_x
I can't wait to get back to me lovely Semarang :')

I miss the weather, I miss the food!
ugh.


Just a few more months to go though!
I'll keep pushing through! ^^

I'll just hold on to this fact: 3 weeks to go before holiday!! :D:D:D

CHEERS!

-*^^*-