stellectism

This to Forever.

2012-02-12T04:02:00.005+11:00

“A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart.”

Had a farewell dinner at Myeong Ga Myeong with the girlfriends. It's one of the most authentic Korean food I've ever tasted in Jakarta. The meats were marinated perfectly and they provided many side dishes as well! Awesomeness at its maximum level.

Another lunch with the best friend whom I've known since high school.

Sydneysiders.

2012-02-09T23:50:00.002+11:00

I was browsing through my archives and found these photos taken in Sydney last November. Can't wait to catch up with you baby girl! I'll hit Melbourne in 4 days!

Bulletproof.

2012-02-08T19:08:00.005+11:00

"And you taught me what this feels like. And then how it feels to lose it. And you showed me who I wanted. And then who I wasn’t. And you ticked every box. And then drew a line. And you weren’t mine to begin with. And then not to end with. And you looked like everything I wanted. And then became something I hated. And you get thought of every day. And then not in a good way. And you let me leave. And then wish I’d stayed. And you almost killed me. But I didn’t die."

Counting the days till I'm back in Melbourne!

To Infinity and Beyond.

2012-02-07T01:04:00.002+11:00

"There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again."

Last Trip in 2011.

2012-01-04T18:59:00.002+11:00

Get ready for picture spam! Here's the recollection of my family's annual year-end trip, which also happened to be the last trip in 2011. We jetted of to China on the 23rd December and came back on December 31st, just in time to celebrate new year with other family members and close friends.

I didn't travel as much as I did back in 2010, but each trip definitely has its own remark. I know 2012 just kicked in, but we're already planning for the upcoming trip in 2012. Excited!

Hello 2012.

2012-01-01T22:18:00.003+11:00

I woke up this morning on January 1st, 2012 feeling a tad confused because 2011 feels just like yesterday. It passed way to quickly and before we realize it, it's time to bid goodbye to 2011 and welcome a new year. 2011 has its own space in my heart. It definitely wasn't the best year for me; in fact, it's quite a roller coaster journey. Too many things happened, and some are meant to be forgotten and gone forever. Nonetheless, I'm still very grateful for all the blessings and loves I received during the whole year.
No words to express my gratitude for everything that happened in 2011; unexceptionally, the hellos and the goodbyes.

I can hardly wait to see what God has in store for us in 2012. I just know it's gonna be awesome. New year is another chance to experience God's grace and blessings. Despite the ups and downs, 2011 was amazing. I thank each one of you for being a part of my 2011 and make it memorable. I hope 2012 be better in every way for us. So for those of you who read this space, I wish you the HAPPIEST NEW YEAR! God bless you!

Cork & Screw

2011-11-30T04:19:00.003+11:00

Hello from Jakarta! I'm back to town for summer holiday and I can't help but to say I already miss Melbourne although I just left a week ago. I love Jakarta, in fact even though I rarely spend more than 3 months here, the feeling of being at home is always the best. But with each passing year, the traffic in this city gets worse which makes me incredibly reluctant to go out. And please don't get me started about the weather.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon roaming around Plaza Indonesia and had lunch at Cork & Screw. I always pay a visit to this place whenever I get back to Jakarta. Don't ask me why, let the photos speak. It is definitely one of my favourite spot in the city.

Flame grilled tenderloin served with watercress, baked potato, and mushroom sauce.

White and brown sugar to accompany my camomile tea and Mom's earl grey.

Grilled goat cheese Pissaladière served with mixed green salad

Mille Feuille. - Thin layer of pastry with cream and chocolate filling served with vanilla ice cream.

Triple chocolate melt with milk, white and dark chocolate.

Besides delicious foods and great ambience, they also served a wide range of wines and cocktails. Expect a crowd during lunch or dinner time. Make a reservation is necessary to avoid disappointment as the seats are pretty limited.

CORK & SCREW
Plaza Indonesia 1st Floor, Unit 127 A-D
Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Kav. 28-30
RSVP: +6221 3199 6659

Girlfriend's Bday / Pyjamas Party.

2011-11-24T16:30:00.005+11:00

HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY to my dearest girlfriend, Sapphira Putri Rusli. You know how much I love you. It's such a blessing to have a girlfriend like you in my life. May you always be blessed and be a blessings for others!

It was my last party in Melbourne for this year and we definitely had a great time!

Sydney #02

2011-11-24T01:04:00.002+11:00

Here's the bits and pieces from our second and third day of holiday in Sydney.
After having a glimpse of sunshine on our first day, we woke up to a gloomy weather on the second day of our trip. And by gloomy I mean cloudy weather, distracting winds, and rainfall for almost the whole day. But being in full holiday spirit, nothing can ever stop us from exploring Sydney.

Rise and shine, we woke up early and headed to Sydney Fish market to enjoy a glorious amount of seafood. Fresh and delicious!

Sydney Fish Market Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 247
Bank Street
PYRMONT NSW 2009

And it started to drizzle after we finished our breakfast so we rushed to the city before the downpour hit.

What's Sydney without a visit to Darling Harbour and Opera House? We headed all the way to Circular Quay amidst the rain and strong winds. I gotta give credits to us for our determination.

Ended the day with Korean hotpot at Millionaire.

The next day we woke up to a slight hangover, feeling badly dehydrated thanks to the jugs of beers, wine, and shots from the night before. Hope that explains the unpleasant faces. Anyway, we kicked start the third day of the trip with yumcha!

Our must-go-destination in Sydney: Adriano Zumbo. If you happen to go Sydney, this is the place for the best macaroons! Unfortunately, this time round they changed the usual flavours to all-new-flavours so I had no idea what to choose so I picked those flavours that don't sound too outrageous (they had green chili and cola flavour. How weird were that?!)

ADRIANO ZUMBO

296 Darling St
Balmain, NSW 2040

That's pretty much a wrap for our awesome trip! So many things happened last week! Right after I came back from Melbourne we held a BBQ party to bid farewell to our dearest friend who is going back for good to Indonesia. On Friday night we hit Alumbra for pyjamas party and to celebrate girlfriend's birthday. I gotta say that my holiday started with a blast!

Bondi Beach.

2011-11-20T12:26:00.002+11:00

I can't think of a better way to spend the day other than this. One of the best spring afternoon ever.

And finally, the long awaited dinner at Hurricane Grill. If you happen to drop by Sydney, this is one of the must-eat-food.

Sydney #01

2011-11-19T13:41:00.006+11:00

Holiday has officially begun and I head start by flying off to Sydney on Tuesday morning. It was definitely an awesome trip. I had the best companions ever and we had tons of fun wandering around Sydney, indulging ourselves in good food and awesome shopping treat.

We slept at 1am on Monday night after the dinner and supper and woke up at 4am to catch our morning flight to Sydney. That explains the face.

A snap before we get off the plane. I love you guys!

Headed for brunch upon reaching Sydney. Thank God for iPhone maps or else we'd be lost.

After a good 2 kilometers of walks, finally destination reached.

Good weather greeted us on the day we reached Sydney. Walked our way to the city for some shopping treats.

Ended the afternoon with a bottle of wine and we literally crashed the moment we reached our apartment.

I'll post the rest of the trips tomorrow. Gotta get ready for church service now. Have a good weekend everyone!

End of S/S Semester.

2011-11-18T02:07:00.004+11:00

Hello! I can't even begin to type how glad I am to be on holiday right now. My last paper on Monday was awful; everyone literally stepped out of the exam hall with an unexplainable look on their face. But fuck it, what's done is done. I let God handle the rest.

Anyway, right after the exams I dined out with my classmates to celebrate the end of the semester as usual. Holiday means temporary separation, the time when everyone goes back to their home country and we won't be seeing each other for months, in this case, until next year.

So right after that awful paper, we headed to Joomak, a hidden Korean restaurant in the city. When I said hidden, I really mean hidden. Don't expect to find this place as there's no sign on the street, not even a signboard. Unless you're referred here by friends, you wouldn't know it exists. This is a place where you'd always want to go back because not only their foods are mouth-spanking delicious (especially the soft tofu soup!), but what we love the most about Joomak are its rice wine and soju.

Unlike typical Korean restaurant, they serves soju and rice wine in different flavours. They taste awesome. So far, we've tried their strawberry and mango rice wince and lychee, pineapple, and melon soju. None of them was disappointing; except for the melon that tasted a tad bitter (which in this case, make you high even faster I suppose). The rest are awesome; you could barely taste the alcohol.

We ordered more than 10 dishes on that night and we cleaned everything within two good hours. It was a great dinner and I'm surely gonna miss them during the holiday.

Anyway, I just came back from Sydney. THE TRIP WAS AWESOME! It's bed time for now as I'm gonna smash the bbq party tomorrow evening and hit the club after that. This is life as I know it; completely blessed.

Lost.

2011-11-14T02:46:00.002+11:00

Sometimes I get lost in the fantasy that we will be together forever. But reality begs to differ; there is no such thing as forever. Forever is overrated. As much as I wish everything to be back to where it was, I know it is impossible. People said distance make you stronger. If you really love someone, distance is not a matter. I don’t subscribe to this perspective. Fuck the distance, I need you here; right by my side.

And now when things are broken, fixing the cracks seemed out of my reach. You were once my world, now I barely know you. It’s sad that the person you know becomes the the person you knew. It’s depressing that sometimes, as we grow up, we grow apart.

Socialize Day.

2011-11-12T22:02:00.006+11:00

Exams have turned me into an anti social person, and by that I mean spending 9 hours straight in the library or simply staying at home drowning myself in books and notes. It might just the way I am but setting my priority right is important. Honestly speaking, I rarely meet my friends during exams period, not even for a meal (that's how anti-social I am), but when we meet on the weekend, things just as awesome as usual. Maybe that's how things work, you give people time to miss your presence.

Chilled at Chao Gao bar at night and tried the apple cider which tasted so good!

Attended church services and the sermon was amazing.

Met the girlfriends whom I haven't met for the longest time.

I can hardly wait to get my last paper done on Monday and I'll be flying to Sydney on the next day. Holiday, I'm ready to do you.

Good Saturday.

2011-11-07T00:15:00.005+11:00

What's weekend without brunch? This is a culture that to me, is very Australian. People don't really do brunch in Asian countries but once you stay here, brunch is the way to spend the afternoon. Melbourne has so many awesome places for brunch, and MART is definitely on top of my list. So I woke up earlier on Saturday (by early I mean is 10pm considering I've been sleeping at 4am for the past few nights. Damn you exams) and headed to MART to indulge myself in great food and awesome coffee. I find it pretty weird though that I love coffee since I moved here. I guess it pretty much because the coffee here taste so good, unlike those served in Starbucks. Meh.

One of the reason why I love MART is besides the irresistibly delicious food, the place is so unique. It's hidden behind the road but very assessable by tram. It used to be an old tram station that is refurbished and turned into a very cosy, warm place. MART is one of those places that you'd want to come back for more not only because it's food worthy, but the gentle, homey ambience put you in in a happy mood.

It serves a range of foods, from the usual brunch meal (all kinds of eggs with side dishes like grilled bacons and mushrooms) to pancakes with berries and vanilla mascarpone and nicoise salad with a fresh tune steak. Don't ask me how they taste. So close to heaven, I gotta say.

MART's infamous corn fritter. Not only it looks good, it tastes heaven.

My favourite brunch meal. Scrambled egg with crunch grilled bacon and dough toasted bread.

They made my cappuccino so cute. I didn't even want to stir it.

Melbourne's weather was being a bitch when it goes up to 29' degrees on Saturday.

MART 130

130 Canterbury Road, Middle Park

Open Daily, 7.30am-3pm.

Lively.

2011-11-05T03:25:00.002+11:00

You know you've made it in life when you live in the most liveable city in the world. I've wittered in the past about Melbourne, and the longer I stuck here, I could say that my love for this place is beyond words. It might not be as lively as Singapore, especially at night, but everything else, Melbourne wins my heart.

It's supposed to be Spring right now, but it's Melbourne, a city that knows no season. The sun could be shining brightly in the morning but turns to shower at night. It could go as dramatic as 9' to 28' degrees in a day.

Again, thank God it's Friday. As much as I learn that Singapore nightlight is the best, we have our own way to rock Melbourne every Friday night.

Fly Away.

2011-11-03T18:22:00.005+11:00

The thought that Christmas is around the corner is kind of freak me out. Not because I'm not looking forward to Christmas, in fact I love the gatherings, trips, celebration, and presents beyond words. But the fact the we're going end this year in two months hit me that time flies.

It's November. It's been a month since I broke up with my boyfriend of four years. The thought of him still lingers every now and then; to forget is not easy apparently. At first, I thought I could deal with the distance. I thought love conquers all. But with each passing day, the distance and uncertainties started bugging me. There came a point of time when the boundaries becoming too obvious and the fog start rolling in.

Nonetheless, I still believe that love never fail. So love your lover while he or she still in your grasp.