...and the heart's all over the world tonight...

Currently listening to: With You - Chris Brown

.airportsunrise.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, January 5 2008

Now I seriously think that the capacity of my singing voice is slowly deteriorating.

Maybe it's because lately I haven't been singing as much as I usually do?
Well I still sing in church quite frequently, only taking a break due to off-roster this week and due to moving-out next week, but otherwise you can say I'm still very much active and rockin' in this particular field. Perhaps its the more frequent absence of morning vocalizing sessions and absent-minded singing which may contribute to this condition. So yeah, I somehow feel that my voice is being resiliently unfit at the time being.

I miss my microphone. I miss the tension. *wink wink*
Sometimes I wish Winter would come soon so I could get down to business and start working on the "project" right away. *wink wink*

Anyway. Thing is, my mind's been terribly preoccupied with like a zillion stuff, so I guess it's not completely my fault if my priorities are sorta getting a bit too mixed up to handle right now. I find it exceptionally hard to spare some time just to get off for a while and sleep some more let alone practice various vocal ornaments.

I need grooming. A MAJOR one at that. Quick. *sighs*
A full-day escape to a nearby spa wouldn't hurt, I guess.

Watched "Waterhorse" at the headquarters today together with the usual peeps. I took pleasure in the fact that I cooked dinner today, although overall it wasn't as successful as I had previously pictured it would be. I hope everybody did enjoy my cooking, though. And I was happy; cooking has always been one of my escapes to channel my inner happiness and release some negative energy produced by long hours of stressful laboring.

So, yeah. I do sincerely hope that my cooking was enjoyable enough. *bows*

It's raining outside as I type. The usual fragrant smell of rain-washed soil is lingering in my room right now, and it somehow brings a kind of peaceful aura with it, seeping through my veins, a bit like aromatherapy, only better. And as freezing cold as it might be, I actually take this as a chance to slow down and slack off for a bit. As it's nearing midnight anyway and I know that starting tomorrow I will no longer have the luxury of sleeping early and waking up late.

Gloomy hardworking days ahead. *sighs again*
Oh well. I should just go to bed now.

Have a great rainy weekend, guys.

...don't leave me locked in your heart...

Alright folks.
Time for an update.

Came across some students laying around on the grass when I was out and about on campus today. They were laughing and yelling; some were spicing things up, Bollywood-style, if you get what i mean. Add up a tree in the middle of the situation and I could easily have witnessed a screenshot of a typical Bollywood movie, with all the singing and the songs and the circling-arounds and stuff. No pun intended.

Today I also came upon the realization that after watching THIS utterly hillarious video over and over again, laughing my arse off feeling sorry for that ultra-funny-and-shameless lady, I always find it hard NOT to laugh everytime I hear Mariah Carey's "Without You" playing in my iPod.

Go on. Try it, if you haven't already. *grins*

...Ken Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..
Tulibu dibu douchooooo..

*slaps myself*

..Erm-hmm.
While we're on that subject...
Call me cheesy, call me crazy. But lately I find that my music playlist has curiously been revolving around Kylie Minogue's catchy dance tracks, over and over again.



Chip in the fact that her latest album X *points at image above* is a HUGE hit here in Australia and like, almost every store in town that considers itself hip enough is most likely to play her album out and loud on the PA at least three times a day, to visitors' delightful approval of course.

Well after all she's talented, she's a star, and she's Melbourne-made, 'nuff said. So no wonder that down here she can be bigger than Britney Spears, well at least sometimes, for lack of a neutral opinion coming from a Britney-fan *wink wink*.
So yeah. Pardon me if I get a bit carried away by all the euphoria.

Enjoying Kylie Minogue's music is actually quite refreshing, in a sense.
Other than the fact that my music interests are getting more and more inclined toward the mainstream industry these days *sighs*, I actually do admire her genre. And listening to her is of course much much more than just listening to those mind-gripping La-la-la / La-la-la-la-la / La-la-la / La-la-la-la-la hooks or nodding along with the beats.
You know what I mean, don't you?

*flashes back of 90's-style Kylie dancing around among robots while draped in nothing more than a single-layer clear-white satin garment*

Hahahaha. Enough with the creepy talk JJ.
I mean, what would Britney say?? *smacks head*
...Whatever.

Anyways.
Life's been in disarray lately. MAJOR stuff. When I say disarray I'm referring to TONS of unfinished business, physically and psychosocially-speaking, if you like. Lately I find myself overflowed with bitterness and shrouded with such heart-wrenching, indescribable sadness, almost 24/7. But I guess I won't disclose this any further.

Forgive me If I've been the biggest bastard these past few days. *sighs*
I hope things are gonna be turning around soon enough.

There's this ANZAC Day BBQ Party tomorrow at St. Kilda, but I'm somehow just so not motivated to go. What with all these endless stacks of work to take care of. Two essays. Another Statistics-related assignment *throws up*. Revisions. Presentations. And, to top 'em all, I still need to PACK UP.

Argh. I'm going crazy.
Somebody slap me with like a thong or something. Quick.

...your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady...

Currently listening to: Bye Bye - Mariah Carey

.itrunsinthefamily.
UniLodge on Lonsdale, April 19 2008

I'm gonna start today's rant by complimenting dear ol' Melbourne's kind-of-unique decision to go all hazy today, weather-ly speaking. *claps*

Nicely done. Well yeah the weather is still terribly changeable as ever, but hey, what's new to that? I'd have to admit that it's somehow nice to see something quite moderately different for a change. Cold mornings and sunny days do get boring once you get used to it, even in the very middle of Autumn. What's good is that this time the so-called change actually stays for more than like three hours, and personally I think of it as an improvement to Melbourne's usually touchy mood. So, yeah. A little bit of haze won't hurt for the day. *grins*

Anyways.
I realize that I've been so into vintage stuff lately. Talk about a predictable cash crash looming somewhere near my financial horizon. But I guess I can still manage some more *winks*. Add a matching vintage-inspired hairdo and a pair of aviator-style sunnies and I'm ready to roll, if you get what I mean. *winks* I guess I'm gonna need to make another appointment with the ever-inspiring hairdresser by the name of Jacob later this month to fix these annoying side outliers. *plucks at hair exasperatedly*

My exam timetables are out, and now I can breathe out a sigh of relief. I'm gonna have one paper to sit on the 10th of June and two papers on the 23rd of June, which leaves me with a two-week break in between. That means I can go to Michael Buble's concert on the 19th of June with peace. Almost, IF I can make the best use of the break and study my arse off. And perhaps fly home earlier, if in the end I decide to do so. *scratches head*

Ah. How I miss high school even more now. *sighs*

At least during high school I didn't have to worry about varying exam timetables as the exam times were always set out uniformly across the batch. I didn't have to spare some time looking for plane tickets to go home; not that I even want to do so now anyway. I didn't have to rush through and make endless summaries since the teachers would always give us highschoolers REALLY obvious hints to help us succeed in the exams, though they would most certainly deny that they had in fact given us the clues in the first place afterwards, so we got to receive all the credit for passing the exams with flying colors *laughs*.

And, most importantly of all, I didn't have to worry of going through all the hardships along, because I used to be a part of a very strong support system when I was in high school. A very strong and solid support system that mainly consisted of Adeline, Frederick, Lina, Dea, Renata, Richard, and myself. as well as some other treasured friends. Everytime a problem arose, we would always join forces and face it bravely, together.

Now I feel like I have to go through each and every day just looking for something solid to hold on to whenever a wave of troubles come flying past, just because the support system is gone. What used to be an essential part of my life is now distant and obsolete. It's part of growing up, I know, yet sometimes I feel that it's unfair, how something so strong and sincere could just break down THAT easily and get swept away by time.

Yet I do believe that this is all for the better.
I believe that no matter how far they are, we will still be friends, and we'll all be reunited again, someday, somehow.
And I know that now I should stop being cheesy and get on with my life as it is.

*shakes head*

Oh well.
Feels like my moods are in a state of turmoil.
One sorrow leads to another, and I can't seem able to do anything about it.

Maybe I'm just grumpy. Or, just like I always put it; perhaps I'm experiencing some sort of a freaky male PMS period?

...Cheers.

...don't wanna wake up alone anymore...

Currently listening to: All The Love In The World - The Corrs

.shopaholics.
Pilgrim Melbourne Central, April 15 2008

So MelMel got her killer beautiful dress.
I got my own generous share of overly-full shopping bags.
And that concludes my already-out-of-control shopping spree detours for April 2008.

*stares hopelessly at worn-out, washed-out wallet and the remaining few dollars in it*

Oh well. At least this Winter I will superbly in-style.
At least I hope I will. *sighs*

But yeah. I gotta tell you, nothing beats new vintage stuff when it comes to doing the usual tedious work of inter-seasonal wardrobe rotation. And now I'm officially out of hangers. Well it doesn't matter much 'cuz I'm moving out soon anyway, but still. Anyone generous enough to donate some to this poor ol' man? *laughs*

Been hanging out a lot in Matheson library quite recently. Option One would be camping out somewhere in the middle of the seemingly-endless lines of study tables in quiet corners. Option Two, the slightly less nerdy one I suppose, would be strolling between aisles, bending down every once in a while, trying to find relevant books to read and - if possible, plausible, and feasible - borrow.

*insert sound of piles of hardcover books toppling down onto the pavement*

But yeah. I have probably been hanging out in the library a bit far too much lately. Well I haven't reached that crazy scary state when I can easily turn on the autopilot mode when maneuvering my way around, or when the librarians there start calling me by name, God forbid that from ever happening. *knocks on wood*

Yet I still think that I have been there too frequently that I managed to find my way through some previously-unthinkable brilliant spots that the mysterious building still has hidden from sight. After all, The Matheson is HUGE, with caps. And wandering around aimlessly inside it, with a warm regular skinny caramel latte in one hand and a postman bag hanging from a shoulder, can prove to be de-stressing, in a creepy nerdy sort of way. *winks*

So during one sunny-but-windy afternoon in paradise, I was stationing myself at one of the computers on the ground floor, browsing through random stuff and renewing my book loans online thanks to the ever-changing advances of the 21st century *bows*. Outta nowhere I just happened to have this random thought of googling some of my favorite Indonesian writers just because I miss reading Indonesian literature, and stumbled across some sites dedicated to Dewi Lestari a.k.a Dee, the amazing author. Excited as I was to read the news about her and her new soon-to-be-released projects, I absentmindedly got a bit carried away and as result typed her name into Matheson Library's search engine, then pressed the magic key ENTER.

Ta-dah!
There they were, those brilliant books, in all their glory, appeared neatly as listed in the library database.

And I was left utterly lost for words.
As in, like, I never thought Matheson Library has such an extensive collection of books that it even manages to have Dee's works. I repeat, Dee's works. Dewi Lestari's books, along with the works of many other revolutionary authors of modern Indonesian literature.

I mean, please, Indonesian literature! Stored, compiled, alphabetically ordered, inside one of the most respected academic libraries in the Southern Hemisphere! How COOL is that fellas? *gasps*

Well okay I might be overreacting just a little. Or a LOT. I admit that was so Phoebe Halliwell of me, making such a huge deal out of minor stuff. *blushes* But I never thought that the Indonesian culture is globally significant up until that life-defining moment.

And then I was like, of course the library has those books. Of course it has them ordered alphabetically. Of course I have to make special requests to borrow them first since some of them were unavailable.

Finally, to top it all off, I managed to go through and borrow not one, but FOUR of them!



From the top left to bottom right: They Say I'm A Monkey - Djenar Maesa Ayu, L.S.D.L.F - Syahmedi Dean, Filosofi Kopi - Dee, Supernova: Akar - Dee.
Aren't they adorable? *winks*

Thumbs up for Sir Louis Matheson Library. *claps*
This way I can better satisfy my longing for Indonesian literature for the time being.

But now, after the euphoria has died down, I solemnly promise that I will not hang around the library that much any more. At least not any time soon.

All revelations and hidden spots aside, as well as this fascinating finding, I still think that I'm more of a caffeine-driven coffee-club kinda person than a constantly-there-you-can-mistake-him-for-a-shelf library haunter.
Yeah, I think I should just stick to the former, no pun intended.

Occasional trips and late-night hole-ups may still be feasible in the future, though, with exams coming up and what-have-you. So, let's just see how it goes. *grins*

Alrighty.
I gotta brace myself and hide under the covers now. It's gonna be a cruel drizzly night, and I should tuck myself in early. *shivers*
Southland trip tomorrow yippie! =]

Cheers!

...and as our lives change, come whatever...

Currently listening to: Graduation [Friends Forever] - Vitamin C

.thesmukiersreunion.
Sofia Camberwell, Melbourne, April 12 2008

What happens when you put together eighteen excited Asian teens coming from the same high school alumni batch in the same room and seat them down on a long table at a crowded corner of a jam-packed Italian restaurant at dinnertime on a Saturday?

Well I would say CHAOS. And of course an excessive dose of pure happiness. *laughs*
'Cuz that was more or less what happened during the memorable Smukiers Class of 2007 Reunion yesterday. Abundant food, crazy stuff, great fun, many photos, 'nuff said.

It was nice meeting them again after such a long time apart, sharing laughs and silly moments together like the good ol' times. Time flies, oh yeah it flies indeed! And it was actually quite a revelation as well, realizing that there are in fact THAT many people from our alumni studying in Melbourne right now.

Suddenly I'm overwhelmed with this thought and... well, I just can't believe that those sweet years of high school is now officially just another turned-over page among the many leaves of my life journal.

Indeed, we have all changed in our own different ways; our smiles are no longer cheeky, our cheesy jokes are no longer funny, our minds are no longer as much happy-go-lucky. Our lives no longer revolve around that dull-white office-like building located right in the middle of one of the busiest roads in Jakarta, with painfully-insufficient parking space, extremely-low flood-resistance, moderately bad food, and unhealthy air pollution. *shakes head*

We no longer spend our time complaining about fussy teachers, or discussing about smart plans for skipping classes, or gossiping about annoying classmates and such. We no longer desperately rush to class in the morning to join the homework-copying mass. We no longer talk about people behind their backs and accuse them of backstabbing us at the same time because that's just how things go in high school. We no longer turn into exasperated drama-queens whenever something goes wrong. We don't sneak out of the school complex to get food from the nearby warteg, or make up reasons to miss lessons just because we feel like doing so anymore.

I miss rushing down straight into the school radio booth on the third floor during every afternoon break, to turn up the beat and bring out my inner DJ, bringing the house down. I miss running around looking for deputy principals, desperate to get them to sign the practice permission letters for the choir. I miss being in the amazingly awesome choir. I miss sitting at my comfy corner in the class, neighboring Adeline, Henry, Lina, Anthony, and Fred. I miss goofing around. I miss being stupid.

I miss my old high-school self. *sighs*

Everything feels so painfully left behind right now, although if I count it right, not even a year has passed. Yet the thought of being part of the white-and-grey [the 'putih-abu-abu' in Indonesian] seems awfully obsolete.
Yet I do know that life goes on. And I have to be thankful for all those good memories I've experienced in the past.

They say that nothing beats high-school memories in life. And I believe in that dearly, thoroughly. I just hope that what's good stays forever. And no matter what happens, we will all be friends. For eternity.

Amen to that. *bows down sincerely*

So, for now, I'll see ya soon, fellas!

Thank you so much for the good time we've shared yesterday.
Look out for the next meeting yea? *winks*

Love you all!! <3

...you're every song...

.upabove.
Monash University Clayton, April 10 2008

I'm so tired but I can't sleep. *sighs*
Been restlessly rolling in and out of bed these last couple of hours, desperate to lull myself into a period of well-deserved, peaceful nap.
So much for me trying to get some proper rest. Oh well. Gotta sleep early tonight! Tickets for Michael Buble's last Melbourne show opens at 9am tomorrow so I gotta be ready! *laughs*

I was lazing around with MelMel this afternoon, sitting on that newly-refurbished long bench just in front of the Campus Center, when I suddenly realized that the clouds up above were forming quite an unusual figure. So after taking some time "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing with my dear lazing-partner-slash-lecture-avoider fella *laughs*, I lashed out my ever-present cameraphone then started clicking away at the blue blue sky.

It's nice to know that Melbourne's being sweet, at least for the time being.

Most of my friends back in J-Town should be facing try-outs around this time of the year. That means going to school on Saturdays [with no-black shoes to match grey pants of course *winks*]; having the privilege to be consistently omnipresent at school without being called a geek; getting quite a LOT of free periods while teachers are busy meeting up talking about scary stuff regarding the exams; staying up late reading up old books wondering where all those disco-lazy-time days have gone; buying extra folders to anticipate the growing number of hand-outs distributed everyday...

And the list goes on. *sighs*

Was talking with quite a few of them through the magic of MSN and realized that it's been a YEAR since I was in their position, busily revising and attending extra classes and freaking out and mugging [as Singaporeans may put it]. So desperately coping to juggle all of those crazy nerdy stuff, wanting to balance them out by maintaining a decent social life, while at the same time trying to spare some time to submit applications to various universities all over the world.

Well yeah I know everything I just said sounds so awfully high-school. But those years were the best years of my life. Incomparably best. I'm even starting to miss the fugly white-and-grey uniform I used to hate yet I long to wear so much right now.

Btw. I'm having a chat with Hapsari as I type right now, her giving me interesting updates about the existence of my terribly-missed second family SMUKIEZ Choir. Problems solved, solutions ready to go. And I'm missing them so much. *sobs*

Okay. Sometimes I may sound like I'm holding on too frikkin' much to my past to be able to let go, and I know that I probably am *coughs*, but what the heck. Life's too short to be quickly forgotten. Right?
Pardon the sappiness. Get over it. *fumes*


...So, yeah. That pretty much sums it all. *stretches hands*
I don't even know where I'm going with this post. Whatever. I just needed to vent a little.

This goes to all you guys busybody schoolies right now... GOOD LUCK!!
My sincere prayers are with you.

I just hope my dear Dad's gonna be generous enough and grant his hopeless child in despair *rolls eyes* another set of Singapore Airlines return ticket, MEL-SIN SIN-CGK. So I can fly back straight into the waiting arms of my dear ol' hometown this June.

Oh well.
Wishful thinking makes my day. *winks*
Have a great night everyone.

...the true intentions of your secret smile...

Currently listening to: Fool - Marie Digby


Thumbs up to Melbourne for the lovely weather today. *winks*

I got through one of my midterm tests this afternoon. The oral test for Brand Management went quite smoothly, I must say. The nice and smiley though nameless female examiner basically just kept me blabbering continuously in my incontrollable Aussie accent for like 15 minutes before she gave me a big red Distinction on her marking paper and let me go. *breathes a sigh of relief*

Well, lucky for me my test appointment was actually quite on time; MelMel had to wait forever for her turn to arrive because her examiner was apparently running a bit behind schedule. But everything ended well enough, and we made our way down and out of Robert Menzies Building feeling somehow self-satisfied. *grins* Hahaha. Oh well.

One down, one more to go.
My unbearably-huge-and-heavy Behavioral Studies textbook is now lying dormant on my bed, untouched. I have to admit that Facebook is always far more appealing. *sighs* But I promise I'm gonna get some work done after this so I can sleep early tonight. My test will be held at 9 am tomorrow morning *sobs* and I don't wanna risk being late.

This has been quite a busy week for me. Feels like my mind is constantly occupied with one thing after another. But I guess this is always the case when you're in the second half of the semester.

These are times when you constantly hold on to your textbooks as if they're actually part of your life. When the library is like your refuge. When caffeine is like your only best friend. When HUGE servings of tall skinny caramel lattes don't even work anymore to help you concentrate. When Gloria Jeans baristas start to remember you by name just because you always come over to study your arse off everyday after class. Times when you resort to eating disorganized meals whenever you have time. When your social life just suddenly gets narrowed down and you can do nothing about it. And when checking out irresistible cuties seem so painfully last year. *slaps own face*

But then again. Nerdy is sometimes good. And I'll have to keep my cheery mood in check. *winks*

Alrighty. Signing off now. Time is of the essence.

Sushi takeaway, anyone?
Edina, you know what I mean. *winks*

...about updates...

Currently listening to: Witchcraft - David Campbell


Well. Sorry for currently being semi-M.I.A. *sighs*

CliffNotes' Version?
Life's been tough, to say the least. And I don't mean TOUGH tough; sometimes it takes more than hard work and courage and enough sleep to get you going and keep you running. In my case, things have been going in disarray these past few days. Scatterbrained, yeah, I guess that's the word.

Just to give you guys a rough picture of what's been happening in my life these past couple of days...

I've been studying my ass off all the way this week. I've got TWO midterm tests coming up next week, one on Tuesday afternoon and one on Wednesday morning. As moderately happy as I am studying for both subjects, MKX2521 and BHS1711, I still think that two consecutive tests with only a couple of hours free in between is unacceptable, for the sake of reasonable academic progress. But then I guess who am I to complain? I might as well shut up and get back to being nerdy. *puts on glasses*

A violent storm hit Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs last Wednesday. That includes Monash Uni's Clayton Campus, and the storm caused quite a frantic frenzy in the campus that day, one of which I was the victim. Got some pictures of the frenzy in my phone; I guess I'll upload them later in a separate post. But yeah, the storm was really scary, in a sense. It even cost Melbourne a woman, who was hit by a collapsing wall blown away by the strong winds. *sighs* My condolences.

And just yesterday, my church friends and I have just wrapped up a movie screening event here in Clayton. It was good; it was tiring and time-consuming but everything paid off. *grins* I'm glad! And I feel blessed to be part of this amazing community. Pictures of this can be viewed by clicking HERE, and HERE, and HERE. *winks*

And oh yeah. I'm moving house, finally. After almost 10 happy months rooted in 54 Koonawarra St, I reckon it's about time for me to move on and look for a better place to live. It's not like I don't like it here; everything's great in my current house, and my room's also supercomfy, though it sometimes feel a little too crowded that half of my stuff just can't fit inside. I'll talk about this later, perhaps, as I need to vent a little.

Alright. Time is of the essence and I'm almost late for church, so I guess I'll see you guys soon!
I'll be in touch, I promise. *bows*

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!! =D *hugs*