Scribbles from My Life

Boy met girl. Boy liked girl. Boy chased girl, girl responded. In other cases, girl chased boy, though unpopular because… well, because male species always do the hunting (almost). Isn’t that just nature? But these seems to have changed now. With the swipe left and right era, the excitement of that wooing process has faded. It’s like an open market now and people are given options to choose from. While that provides ease and options, it also creates a certain kind of dilemma and confusion in the dating world. Loyalty does not seem to be of importance, (unspoken) commitment is low and insecurities have increased for some people are able to portray themselves as someone else behind the screens. Let’s talk about the pros of this new dating method. 1.       You can “Multitask” Swipe left and right, by the end of the day you have a list of suitors (depending on how you beautify your profile and how you look, you can get tens or hundreds of them). Yo...

"What do you do on weekends?" This is the most common question I get from people I rarely meet or people  I have not seen in the longest possible time. This, is also the question I never ask people (why should I know? Is this even a good ice breaker?) There is one thing about this question. I thing they are never asked just because people want to have a conversation opener. There is a real curiosity in this question and I have proven it from a friend of mine who said her life is "mundane" and "boring" and she wants to know what do people do on weekends? Is she the only one drama-bingeing at home? Is she missing out on things in life? Are people hanging out without her? If yes, why? A part of this question contains your insecurity. I don't understand though, do you have a solid plan every weekend? I mean, not trying to be aloof or anything, honestly though, do you? Because weekends are supposed to be a break from your routines and I don...

Jacket, checked. Knee-high boots, checked. Passport, checked. His heart was beating so fast that morning. In less than 48 hours, he'll smell the familiar air of New York City. Sure, it'll be cold in the beginning of October like this, but it'll be warm to the heart. He knew what is awaiting him, all the memories he had in that vibrant city, as bright as how Times Square will light up at night. In less than 48 hours, he will also be able to hug that person he misses so much. Someone he didnt know could make breathing feels so hard when they are apart, someone who'll make him stop infront of the paint shop because those stacks of colorful paint buckets reminded him of the time they painted her apartment together;when painting was not about hard work of putting those fluids across the wall, but about occasional hugs, kisses, laughter, splatting paint on each other. All those happy times, before he had to leave his heart behind in New York City. The flight from New Y...

Happy Sunday, Good People! Today I am finally at home. I have been complaining about lacking personal time and space, today I finally got it. Unfortunately, after so many months of busy weekends, I feel bored today. I used to be able to just snooze off until so late but no more now:( I guess I am indeed getting older. Ha Ha. But anyway, due to the PMS that is taking over me, I shall write a little something here. So, I came back from my short retreat in Jogja yesterday. The 4 days there were a pretty nice bonding time with my parents and a break from crazy work life. The food, however, was not so pleasant. I CANNOT stand the sweet food. I need my salty-spicy food back! It was such a torture to me x( Otherwise, everything was great! Anyway, the moment I landed I feel bored already. These few weeks my brain was going through a whirlwind of thoughts that I had to keep telling it to stop talking so I can fall asleep at night. Weirdly enough, the things that I have been wo...

Today is a story-telling time. Okay, it's just skipping from responsibilities kinda day because it's Friday! Technology is a creepy and crazy things. It changed us, human beings, in so many ways possible. To better or worse. It made life easier but sometimes it was soo easy we are crossing borders. Take for example instagram. While it is true that you get to see the world and get updated with people's life from Instagram, you also lost the human touch with others, which is what partly makes you human. And it was so easy, our curious mind stepped further to know not just the people we know but the people we have no relations with. Even worse, people make hateful comments. It's like as if making those comments will add some good karma in their lives. Ugh. Anyway, I have sidetracked a little too far this time. Back to the title, with the power of social media, I am still in touch with the first guy I ever liked as a kid. Back when I was waaaaay younger, I ...

Hong Kong International Airport [12:51 AM] Terminal 1, Gate 30 The previous post was about my USA trip part 1, and now this is titled Finale, I know. Well, since I am sitting in the waiting room, waiting for departure call for my final leg home, I might as well write about the finale. The other parts will be filled in later on. Rewinding back to 6 days ago.. Chicago [2nd July 2017] O'Hare International Airport Chicago was my last past of the America trip. The part where I was initially looking forward to because it was when I get to step on to the place that left me with so much memories before. I was, in a way, excited. There was also nervousness and sadness then. My sister couldn't make it to the trip because she had an exam and so it was just us three. the white Subaru was our companion thru that last leg, fitting all the luggages that contained our freshly bought clothes and shoes and accessories. See what living in Indonesia has done to us? We yearn ...

Hey y'all! I am back here finally writing something before memories evaporated off my brain. Today marks my 2 weeks of staying in the USA and time flies while you are on vacay:( Anw, let me write a little about the first leg of my trip-Boston. First stop was Bostown because sissy's staying there for her Harvard Summer program. The apartment looks like Fuse, the people there are more poshy than Purdue (DUH). It's walkable to Harvard Square which offers awesome awesome stuff.. They have UO, JP Licks Ice Cream, Shake Shack.. uuuhhh aaah. Anyway, America has always been the safe place. I feel free and home here. You know, people here do things according to their will, and they just have to answer to themselves for the actions they done. Unlike Indo tho, your society expects from you and everyone is in the rat race to be on top, at the expense of losing themselves. That, though, is still common in Asian countries and became so apparent when I reached Vegas (Tha...

Today, Ahok is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. Reason: Blasphemy. Does his work for this country matter? No. One sentence and it was used for political reason to imprison him. I am not a political person. In fact, I know nuts about politics. I know there will be thousands of articles on this matter today, and days to come. But today, I feel the need to write something about this too. I have been hearing stories about this amazing man for awhile now though. about someone who is bringing visible change, someone who was honest and brave and is a minority . And for someone who has zero knowledge about politics, I can even vouch for that change. The house where I grew up in has been left empty for awhile now one reason why we moved was because it was flooded every so often. But then this man came to rule and now there is no more flood, people are not selling their houses anymore bcos now their asset is worth more. It is safe to say that I grew up in a well-protected e...

So a friend of mine is adding a tattoo on his rib cage. I have always wanted getting a small tattoo myself but my family is against it. And after thinking for years, I guess if I really wanted to, I could wait until I am married and that my future husband approves it. Anyway, back on his tattoo. this kid is a carefree young soul despite him being older than me! And reckless as it sounds, he still has no clue what to be drawn on him while it's just gonna be another 2 weeks more before he is gonna get one. He asked me to help him pick one, something that I think describes him, and that he would follow my advise and won't go on if I don't approve. Little did he know, I am such a fickle minded person! but it's so fun, looking thru pictures, finding ideas. I even feel nervous for him because that thing is going to be permanent. I used to have a friend who had a few tats. Every tattoo was drawn when he got out from a near-death experience. It's a memor...

Is it just our bodies? Are we both losing our minds? Is the only reason you're holding me tonight 'Cause we're scared to be lonely?     -Scared to be Lonely, Martin Garrix. Hey y'all! Finally landed myself on this blog after being away in Singapore for a week. It was mostly just resting in the weekdays and taking care of my family who happen to fall sick. But, let's just jump to the weekeeeenddd! Met awesome companion on Friday night for some chilling time. I decided to go to The Library, a secret speakeasy. It was pretty hard to spot because the front view was like a traditional medicine shop. We had to obtain the password from their social media account or shop next door, The Study. It was an amusing experience though, I would have to say. Met two new friends that night, they were from Purdue as well! They are Malaysian and graduated when I just came in to Purdue They were really fun, was glad that they talked alot and that we don't have to put...

The universe works in a weird way. It's so diverse, so hard to comprehend. Everyone grows up and molded themselves according to their surroundings. Their ideology is formed along the way, as what they see and taught. It will be etched so deep to their personality, that any other ideas against what they have firmly hold on to from the beginning, is hard to take in. Worse still, some people cannot/will not even try to accept new ideas. I met people from different backgrounds. Be it from school, friends of friends, co-workers, etc. I always find it intriguing to enter their world. A guy who came from a broken family and mediocre economic status will be of a vast difference with an only child who came from a loving and rich family. And yet, here we are. Intertwined in one life event or another, completing each other with our differences. I came from a closely-bonded core family. In fact, I feel we are too close to each other that sometimes we lost...

2016 is coming to an end. Real. Soon. It's about 2 weeks away until 2016 becomes a memory and a past. Scary isn't it? It still feels like yesterday when I left College and brave the storm of coming home. Home that feels so strange and new because I have been away for too long. Let's be really honest here, 2016 has been a roller-coaster ride. Coming home and working with your typical Asian parents is really something. There is a gray area between being professionally related and family-bond. Most times than not, they cannot be separated. Suddenly, freedom is a luxury. It's like your most precious possession being taken away from you. I fully understand their worry as the kids who are not familiar with this dangerous third world country besides, they have not seen us grow up and miss alot of our firsts since we left. They had no idea how we survived many failures, how as foreign students you faced so many unfamiliarity and yet struggle to find help. Eventua...

Hi Y'all. Omg I don't know why but I think since this is the end of the year and that X'mas (and weekend) is coming near, I really don't feel like doing anything. Anyway, I have been playing a song called The One by Kodaline. Lyrics down below and please please, listen to it word by word, it's amazing! Especially to all the men out there, it does not make you cool to treat girls badly. It does not make you cool to pretend that you don't care. You will be the best guy out there by being honest with your feelings Why am I even saying this? I don't know. But anyway, a friend introduced this song to me and I have been listening to it on repeat. Like, for the whole 2 hours of my drive to work kind of repeat! I am in loveeee with this song:) So let me share it with you! The One-Kodaline Tell me, tell me that you want me And I’ll be yours completely, for better or for worse, I know, we'll have our disagreements Be fighting for no reason, I ...

Garuda Stage (Main) Djakarta Warehouse Project 2016 Since it's a lazy midweek and the rain isn't helping me being productive,  let's do a short recap on last week's Asia's major EDM Event: Ismaya Live's DWP. This event is held every year, bringing in top international artists such as Martin Garrix, Alan Walker, DJ Snake and on and on and on.  The Lineup change every year, of course.  This year is my first DWP since I have only been back to Indo for over a year now. A few friends decided to go and they went before so I was like, why not?  DWP sounds like a good idea to spend the long weekend with friends  and let loose!  The stress from adulthood is really building up recently ;( So as someone who has never been to DWP before,  I was honestly pretty worried with the security at first. I mean, this is Indonesia! I been to rave party in the USA, I am naaaht worried with drunkards whatnots, I am worried I might get bo...

Before my brain decides to erase my memory again, I shall jot down a little detail on my recent trip to China. I left Jakarta on the 15th November 2016 The journey took us about 9 hours, including transit time. My family is never a light packer. It seems like everyone (the parents, to be exact) would just need to bring their whole closet. My dad is always afraid of the winter weather idea. Although Google weather forecasted just slightly cooler weater at 17 DegC He was so paranoid he brought a few jackets. Anyway, point is, the 4 of us would not fit into a normal car. I was not convinced with the Chinese car+driver rental companies, so we decided to pick our mode of transport as we reach. As we reach the airport, there is a woman holding out a sign and asked if we needed a ride. She has a booth at the airport and we thought it was pretty legit. So after confirming that the cost of 650 RMB to our hotel downtown is inclusive of everything, we boarded their Minivan and off...

Olla! I am catching a flu bug and so I don't feel like working. (when do I ever feel like working anyway?) So I will be writing a recap on my dining experience at CUT in MBS Singapore. My friend asked me if I wanna try their steak and I almost went there during the F1 weekend, except my friends didn't want to:( So I was thrilled someone finally wanted to go with me! It was the three of us that night Bad decision made before dinner because I had buffet lunch at Rise:( So I was kinda full by the time dinner come. We reserved a table for 3 at 6 PM Was welcomed nicely by the staff there.. After looking thru the menu, made my friend decide on what to order. So he ordered medium rare porterhouse with bone marrow starter and tuna tartare. Yum! The bone marrow taste almost like milk pudding. It came with a set of bread to devour it with! It took them awhile to serve the steak.. For a SGD 300 over dollar, I feel like I had better steak the meat isn't as tender...

Korea, September 2016 <3 Happy Sunday to everyone out there. I figured the addition of pictured in this blog would add colors and help me recall the events better. Oh how my short term memory really scares me:( I think I have such a lazy brain. Gah.  Anyway, So finally I have half a day to be home,  chilling with my can of beer and reading documents for Monday. It's not exactly relaxing eh? but better than nothing at all.  I was just staring at my wall before I started typing and amazed at my "Wall of Boarding Passes"  -the collection of boarding passes from my trips this year. At the end of the year, I will put them in an album and start a fresh one for 2017:) I know, I have been wanting to write about my trips here, there are a few drafts in my files but they are all undone because I procrastinate and ended up forgetting the details of my trip. In this 10 months though, I have travelled: India USA Canada Europe ...

I fly. Yes, I do. I fly so much that seeing the airport makes me feel sick. Imagining the waiting time for our flight is always a terrible experience. But I am always excited to leave my nest, seeing new things, smelling the fragrance of air elsewhere in the world. I fly so much that I think I need to share. I kinda wanna make a mini travel blog out of this one Rather than just random ranting:/ Who knows someone famous found it and share it to the world:) HAH HAH. Anyway, maybe I should start sharing soon! I have short term memory so writing would be good to keep the memories alive! Loves, Lin

Why is the fifth day of the week called Friday? Maybe it stands for FREE DAY. Friday marks the end of your five days workdays for most people. Although we have an equal amount of hours everyday, Friday seems to pass sloooower. You'd be counting by minutes for Friday to end and hit the bar on Friday nights. Or go on a date. Or watch a movie. Or simply sleep in. But the start of a Friday is usually happier. It's like your body feels so much lighter and the bed finally is letting you go to work instead of sucking you in its ultra-strong gravity. You'd finally decide to take a shower and comb your hair, put on a little make-up and not look so crappy because it's FRI-YAY. As you are reading this up until this paragraph, you must be wondering what is the main point of this post. Now before I annoy you further, let me tell you. The point is, I AM GLAD IT'S FRIDAY. What's your plan this weekend? I honestly don't have anything in mind. My parents are...

bzz bzzz ( phone vibrating on my desk) *peep* *smiled* Bff : Have you ever wondered what are you doing in life? What do you really want? Ah-ha So that was a text sent by one of my bestest buddy one fine afternoon last week. He is my partner in complains and so we understood each other pretty well. I seemed to have asked him the same question before, and it feels like he did too. This might just be the second time we talked about this. Now, is he really asking? Do I know the answer? Answer is no. Post graduation a year ago has not been easy. Living in a place I did not grow up in feels so strange. And out of so many friends who have been back, they almost all feel the same way. Gatherings after gatherings lead to the same topic; what are we really doing? But I shall not act like a smarty pants and tell you how to find your dream or how to be the best in everything you do, do startup or fake it till you make it. The truth is, everyone has their own struggle. I had my sh...