Friday, May 12, 2017

MELBOURNE BIRTHDAY


MY FIRST EVER BIRTHDAY OUTSIDE JAKARTA

Yes, I am that lame~

Gw belum pernah ngerayain ulang tahun di luar Jakarta~ Not even in Singapore walaupun tiap tahun ke sana~ Dulu bos gw di XXXXX selalu ke luar negeri setiap ultah. Belakangan gw baru tau kalo itu udah jadi semacam kebiasaan orang2, untuk ngerayain ultah di luar negeri, atau minimal Bali-lah.

So yeah, Melbourne bday, first time ever~ wkwk~

So, what did I do on my bday?

Beberapa bulan yang lalu gw sempat kepikiran untuk bikin bday party~ Coz, y’know, this could be the first and the last bday I have in Melbourne. I wanna make it unforgettable.

So I have already pictured this in my mind, with me booking a restaurant and invite couple of friends~ But then I wondered, realistically speaking, could this even happen?

Rencana yang terlihat sederhana itu ternyata comes with MANY ISSUES:

1. Siapa yang mau diundang? Temen2 Indo? Temen2 kuliah? Temen2 kerja? Kerabat keluarga di Melbourne? Siapa??? Kalo ngundang temen2 Indo, sayang dong temen2 bule ga diundang, tahun depan ga bakal ketemu lagi~ Kalo ngundang temen2 bule, kasian temen2 Indo, udah banyak berjasa membantu gw bertahan di Melbourne yang dingin~ Tapi kalo gitu, temen kerja juga harus diundang dong, karena merekalah sumber pendapatan. Terus kalo kerabat keluarga di Melbourne ga diundang, nanti nyokap bokap ngomel~ And then how about orang rumah??? Kan berjasa juga… Jadi gimana? Undang semuanya? But that will not sit well with the stipend~

Baru issue pertama aja udah pusing~

2. Mau traktir apa dan dimana? Restoran Indo? Bosen. Restoran China/Vietnam/Thailand/whatever? Temen Indo ga bisa makan karena ga halal. Restoran vegan? ELO MAU MERENGUT KEBAHAGIAAN GW? #antivegan Restoran Italia favorit tapi jauh dari city? Temen China pada ga punya Myki~

Tambah pusing.

3. Kapan? Ulang tahun gw bener2 bad timing di bulan Mei. Ini gw rasakan juga waktu kuliah S1 sih. Bulan Mei musim ujian, orang2 pada belajar (gw nggak sih~ temen2 geng gw dulu juga nggak~ :P). Tapi mostly belajar dan ga bisa diganggugugat. Nah, sekarang sama kasusnya. Apalagi mahasiswa Unimelb, yekan? Musim exam, pada bikin tenda di depan perpus. Pulang itu haram. Tidur itu makruh. Barang siapa meninggalkan assignment dengan sengaja adalah dosa. Apa kabar undangan hedon makan2 buat ngerayain ulang tahun gw? Minimal gw dianggap kafir, maksimal gw dilaporin ke high court atas penistaan terhadap assignment.

Makin pusing.

So yeah, it comes with so many issues and I simply don’t have time to find the solution, so… batal deh~

Tapi gw tetap harus melakukan sesuatu di hari ulang tahun pertama dan terakhir gw di Melbourne ini, otherwise this whole year will be a waste~

Tapi apa???

But then I thought, AHA! Why don’t I do something I do best?

>>> Having fun all by myself!

Ner uga! Therefore I don’t have to worry whom I’m gonna invite, where and when, semuanya tinggal ngikutin jadwal dan mood gw!!!!!

Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaa~~~~~

LOLOLOLOLOL~~~

Anyway, so I did. :)

Literally did everything by myself yesterday (karena ini late-post, hehe). Makan, shopping, nonton, jalan-jalan, ngebolang, foto-foto, snapchat2, semuanya sendirian.

Main attraction-nya shopping. Literally beli barang2 ga penting tapi yang penting bikin gw happy. Dua diantaranya:





Ini, kawan-kawan, adalah apa yang gw sebut ibadah, because my idea of God(dess) is Beyonce. Jadi gw beli baju clothingline-nya Beyonce, logikanya samalah kayak lo beli mukena.

Oiya, kemarin gw juga sama sekali ga nyentuh laptop. Sama sekali ga belajar/bahas materi kuliah. The purpose of my whole existence yesterday was solely to make myself happy.

IT FEELS SO DAMN GOOD!

YOU GUYS SHOULD TRY!

Di menit2 terakhir, kepikiran untuk ajak beberapa temen deket untuk dinner, soalnya breakfast udah sendiri, lunch sendiri, dinner bolehlah ajak orang. Ga mungkin Mawar, soalnya rumahnya di ujung dunia. Ga mungkin Matahari karena ga punya Myki. Ga mungkin Lebah, karena Jumat sore itu jadwal doi ngegym. Jadi yaa… anak2 Indo aja.

FIVE closed invitations were sent. Yang bisa dateng berapa? 1 orang aja. Kakak Inunk kesayangan. Makasiii kakakk <3 span="">



KZL sih yang lain ga bisa dateng. Tapi masih untung gw ga dilaporin ke high court atas tuduhan penistaan terhadap assignment.

Eniwei baswei~

So yeah, terima kasih Melbourne atas perayaan ulang tahun yang menyenangkan. Terima kasih untuk tidak hujan kemarin, jadi gw bisa jalan2 dengan tenang. Terima kasih juga untuk semua yang sending bday wishes. Rata2 wishes-nya klasik dan template (not that I complained), tapi semuanya diamieni kok, don’t worry. ;)

Satu wishes terpopuler tahun ini adalah: “cepat pulang”, yang bikin gw bingung bagaimana menyikapinya. Gw sudah pasti pulang bulan Desember 2017 (7 months remaining yeay!), ga bisa lebih cepat/lebih lama. So, the idea of nyuruh gw “cepat pulang”, is like nyuruh gw mempercepat waktu~

Just… HOW?

I’m not the God~

I’m not a superhero~

I can’t control the universe~

I can’t make the time runs faster~

And I am definitely not that smart to make my own time machine~

Heck I don’t even study science~ :/

So yeah, kawan-kawan, hindari memberikan wishes tentang sesuatu yang tidak bisa dikontrol oleh manusia. Well I know stuff like jodoh juga beyond my control, but at least masih lebih realistislah dibanding mempercepat waktu.

Alrighty! Thank you once again, Melbourne, for a lovely, lovely birthday.

I am a happy kid!




Monday, May 8, 2017

Can I be your drinking buddy???

Context: As per September 2015, I officially resigned from Kpop. Meaning I don’t do an intense follow up and observation like I used to do back when I worked at XXXXX. I stopped every Kpop affiliation/networking. I deactivated all Kpop related accounts. Well I still listen to some of them sometimes, but I have completely cut ties with those who are trending after September 2015. Don’t expect me to know about BTS, Twice, etc.. as well as any new K-drama. I can hardly know.

Situation: Made a new friend yesterday. A Korean.

Her: So do you like Kpop?

Me: Yes.

Her: Who’s your favorite?

Me: 2NE1.

Her: Ah~ 2NE1~ You must be really sad when they disbanded~

Me: I was, yeah.

Her: I’m really sorry~

Me: That’s fine. Thanks anyway.

Her: Anyone else do you like?

Me: Not many nowadays…

Her: Oh! My childhood friend is a Kpop star!

Me: Oh, really? What’s his/her name?

Her: His name is Lee Jinki!

Me: Hmmm… is he a singer or an actor?

Her: He’s a singer, but sometimes he does acting as well!

Me: Hmmm… I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him, sorry~

Her: Recently he starred in a very famous drama! If you’re a fan of Kpop you must know the drama, it’s called “Taeyang-ui Huye”. Very very famous!

Me: Err… I barely watch K-drama~

Her: “But this one is very famous! OMG! What do they call it in English?? I forgot the English title!! (*googling*)

Me: Hahaha~ Seriously it’s been so long since the last time I watch-

Her: HA! (*showing me her phone*)



Me: Wait, WHAT???????

Her: The drama is called DESCENDANT OF THE SUN! My friend was the doctor in this drama, he acted alongside Song Hyegyo! What a lucky bastard!



Me: (*established this fact in split second*) YOUR FRIEND IS….. ONEW????????????????????????????

Her: Ah yeah, that’s his stage name, hehehe~ I always call him by his real name, Jinki-ya! Hahahahahahahaha

Me: HOLYMOTHER OF KPOP!!! YOU ARE A CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF ONEW!!!!!!!!!!!! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~

Her: So you do know him! Hahahaha~~ Yes, I am. But I never see him often nowadays. He’s really busy~

Me: OF COURSE HE’S BUSY!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~ OMG! OMG! OMG! TELL ME MORE ABOUT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!

Her: He’s very nice and friendly. To be honest, he doesn’t look like a celebrity in real life. Hahahaha~ Sometimes we go drinking if he isn’t busy~ He is my drinking buddy as well~

Me: HOT DAMN~ CAN I BE YOUR DRINKING BUDDY TOO?????

**

Aaaand… you can project the following conversation between me and her. :)

I really love creating this kind of writing, a skit-y or sketch-y kind of. In fact I have a bunch of skit-y story inspired by simple daily conversation like this.

Unfortunately, the time won’t accommodate~ T.T

Thank you for reading!

Friday, May 5, 2017

20 Facts About Me #3 – Melbourne/Postgraduate Edition

Berikut adalah fakta-fakta tentang gw yang berhasil gw discover setelah hampir setahun tinggal di Melbourne untuk menempuh kuliah S2. Enjoy!

1. I hate winter to the moon and back.

2. Pho Bo Ga Mekong Vietnam at Melbourne CBD is LYFE!

3. I always look for accommodation with bills included. Simply have no time for bills coz my brain is occupied with 20,000 words to finish within 3 months~

4. I almost did not make it to Justin Bieber concert last March until I found $130 resale ticket 3 days prior.

5. One day after the aforementioned concert, I went to CBD to catch JB’s pop-up store. But went home empty-handed coz the T-Shirt I looked forward to buy has been sold out. #sad

6. I hate hiking! The trip to Wilson Promontory last January marks the last time I go hiking in Australia. Never again.

7. I love urban living. Exploring the city’s lifestyle is always my favorite thing to do during holiday.

8. I limit myself to $10 pocket money everyday. This, of course, subjects to condition, such as social life and redemption.

9. I was a total cheap ass on watching movie last semester. But I give zero fuck this year. Movies deserve my $$$ more than food!

10. Unsubscribing Netflix is probably the hardest and saddest decision I have made this year.

11. My average grade for Semester 1 is 78. That equals to 3-something GPA.

12. Grade is not my number one priority right now.

13. I live in northern Melbourne area for the past one year and plan to move to the southern area next semester.

14. I love being a tour-guide for everyone who trusts me! Perks of having me as your tour guide: your 1st meal in Melbourne is ON ME! ;)

15. I have been to all train lines within city. My target is trying all lines outside city before going back home.

16. My sneakers bias has changed from Chuck Taylor to Stan Smith.

17. Melbourne improves around 20% of my English and 50% of my Chinese. PS: I still speak in American accent.

18. I have yet to see a kangaroo since I first got here~ But I saw koala couple weeks ago!

19. Melbourne turns me into a coffee-lover and an alcoholic~ LOL

20. I prefer train (or bus) to trams. Taking trams makes me dizzy.