Week 4 Semester 1 - Good Friday 2016

Another week is down, and this time I CANNOT contain my excitement!

I'm finishing up some assignments, but mostly this week I'm preparing myself for next week B)
I daydreamed and planned places to visit, what to eat :p
Just anything and everything that'll take my mind off uni and its stressfulness!

Oh, this week I came to PPIA's Got talent event. Really glad I came!
Not quite the standard that I thought (I'll lower my expectation next time :p ) but a few interesting and unique performances as well! :D


But of course, the highlight of the week is this very day :)
I can't believe it's Good Friday!
It was raining a bit this morning, but nothing too heavy :)
Was welcomed to church with a buttered hot cross bun! ^^
It was a beautiful (and quick) service, but WOW what a message!
What an AMAZING and perfect love our God has for us! :D:D

Now, while my friends were on their way to camp, I took a walk in Southbank, in the city, around my own place..
I love Melbourne when it is quite :p HAHA *sshhhh*

5 days of this week is down, there are 2 days still left.
And these next 2 days will be AWESOME. Just you wait.

Love and CHEERS!

-*^^*-

Week 3 Semester 1

What a week :)

Not that anything terribly huge happened, but the university experience finally sank in!
I started fussing around assignments, and I think this might be my most inspired week :)

It rained a couple of days this week, which I love!! I miss rain.

The highlight of this week might be:
- having to take uber for the first time in my life! Me and my friends could not get a tram, and we've been waiting @Maccas & then stood around for 20 mins? So we decided to take uber.
- Autumn is coming real soon! It's getting real cold, but I love my sweaters ^^
- Made bubur ketan hitam (black rice pudding) which turned our yummelicious :D I miss this traditional snacks, so I was thrilled it had worked :D
- finished reading "New York" !! I'll be back with the story!

Still, the 4th week is probably the week I'm looking forward the most: a week off is following! Hehe :p

CHEERS!
-*^^*-

Julie Andrews' Memoir!

Last week I had the JOY of crossing one book out of my must-read list! :)

That book is *drumroll!* Julie Andrews’ memoir! :D

It’s called “Home: A Memoir of My Early Years” :D

I adore this lady, from Princess Diary movies back to Mary Poppins, and the Sound of Music. What an amazing voice and charm she has, but also a mesmerizing light (almost comedic, even!) feel to her characters! (Well, maybe except for Mary Poppins.)

She talks often about her vaudeville years and how they helped her to adjust to filming her early musical movies. And she discussed it deeply in this book.

We started waaayy up the family tree actually, and during the early-early years of her life. I was reading in disbelief of her childhood; I can never believe someone could have such a though times in his/her life.

 She lived during the war years. Times were hard. Her family was not a perfect one. She had to support her entire family financially since a very tender age. Gosh, how hard that must’ve been? She even went across the Atlantic to perform at Broadway, at a younger age than when I had to go to study in Melbourne.

I’m so glad she didn’t turn out to be a ‘rough’ person with such hard times. She definitely got class and style!

It’s a very interesting read as it once again reminded me of how you can never guess one’s story.

But it’s also an interesting read because of her writing style! Quite melodious, expressive, gentle. I don’t know, maybe I’m biased! But I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read it :)

I’m marching onwards now with “New York” by Edward Rutherfurd. Note to self: next time you borrow a book, check if it’s a large print, and check HOW MANY PAGES it is. This book is massive! But I’m enjoying myself!

Will be back with more!

Cheers!

-*^^*-

Week 2 Semester 1 :)

Another week has passed, another set of challenges were overcome :)

I was quite down this week for several days, yet at the same time feel really quite excited :)

New experience this week:

• Went to various sessions (study session and mentoring thing) where I knew absolutely no one, but managed to enjoy myself surrounded by new friends :) 
• Cooked for iCare :D Up to 15ish people? Although might not be the most filling meal (I’m an vegetarian cook, peeps :p) it was okay :D We managed to make Pop Corn chicken too, and serve watermelon for dessert :) Quite fun!

Besides these new experiences, the routine stays:

• Motoring with French learning. C’est hard!!
• Pondering drafts upon drafts of poems. Argh! 
• Reading --> this, I love. I vouch to read as many books as I can this semester. I’m in love with reading, and I’ve probably already read more books than I did last year!

This morning I had smoothies for breakfast. Not the healthiest because I put chocolate drink powder in it, but it sure is yummy ^^

I guess the lesson for me this week is to embrace my new life here. New routines, new leisure time, without the feeling of having to be ‘so productive’ every single day. I need to learn to take time off to enjoy myself – what does that even mean?? Haha. We’ll see.

I just hope that’s not an excuse for laziness. Uh-nuh.

This week is not over just yet, though! There are still a few hours to go to enjoy the beautiful city I get to call ‘home’ for the majority of the year. Let’s see what we can come up with!

CHEERS!

-*^^*-

To All the Boys I've Loved Before - P.S. I Still Love You

On my trip from Jakarta to Surabaya, I was at the airport just casually looking at the bookstore, and I was stuck on this one book. "To All the Boys I've Loved Before". My sister said that the book has a good review, and the cover is so pretty :) SO the book went to my shopping bag and became my company during the flight :)

Little did I know... the book is so good!!! :D
I'm so happy to find this great book. I love the sisterhood of the Song sisters, and I love how they are half Korean :) I love their friendship with Josh, and I love the running baking theme :D Oh it always reminds me of how I want to bake cookies and cakes. I love the letters part, bcs (maybe) I'd like to do that too? :) I feel welcomed to their domestic life, but still feel the hip-ness of high school life ^^ !

Towards the end of the book, things are not going as well as they can..... and I hadn't been able to read what happens next bcs I had to go back to Melbourne.
Or can't I? :D

I love my local library! Because, yes! They have these 2 books! Ah I was so happy to read P.S. I Still Love You. Well, I was both happy and sad. It's bittersweet to watch the story finish. Hopefully there'll be a third book though. Will there be one?

Anyway, the second book picked up where the first book ends. The same running theme (sisterhood, baking, the letters, etc.) with richer selection of characters :)
I'm missing Josh though :( Wish he's more of a prominent character in the 2nd book to :')
As I was reading the book, I was nervous to finding out the ending. Who will Lara Jean choose? :D
The ending is perf. I love love love it :) It's sad for some reasons, but (spoiler alert!) as a lover of happy endings, I love it :)


I need more of Lara Jean, Margot, Kitty, Kravinsky, everybody!

I'd love to read more books of this genre and themes :)

Cheers!
-*^^*-

Week 1 Semester 1 of Uni :)

"I'm currently doing a bachelor degree in Mel U, Arts, creative writing."

It feels so good to officially say that :D:D

My first week is so good and quite short, since I only have 3 days of school :)
I'm loving my transition from a college student to a uni student :D
I love the lectures, I'm daunted slightly by the tutes :p
But most of all I love the sense of urgency and the drive leached out by each students and teachers.
I love how people might not know one another but can be friendly, I love the interaction, I love the sense of being a part of something bigger...

Can you see my inner beam? :D

I do realize uni comes with a greater responsibility. More complicated task with higher set of standards. But the main point is not that goal; it's how we work hard to reach that target. Because then we might discover something else we otherwise would never know. So I'm just excited! :D

So far my tutors are really really nice :)
My 1st tutor group is fantastic!
I haven't get to know the others well, but they are nice and driven people too :)

I'm looking forward to the next 12 weeks :)



Melbourne is scorching hot these days, though. I'm missing winter just slightly.

But seriously, who cares?


CHEERS!
-*^^*-