Gloom

First morning without him, and even Singapore is gloomy.

Passion

How do you know what your dream is, you ask? It's when you can't stop thinking about it, until you do something. And once you're doing something to reach that dream, you can't stop moving.

What is passion, you ask? It's when you can't stop yourself from working for it. Even when everyone doubts you, mock you. Even when you question yourself. But you can't help to keep working for it.

Six cities in six days

1. Hanoi - 19 Aug

Had to meet a kabajillion people for this trip. But that means a kabajillion food.

The mandatory pho. Costs just around SGD2 (VND35.000)

Pigeon sticky rice. WHAT?! That's right, pigeon sticky rice.
If you're wondering, pigeon meat tastes like pork but with much softer texture, and minus the smell. 

Got hit by a motorcycle when I was walking in Old Quarter. That's the first. But the driver is so pro that she (yes, it's a SHE) stopped at the right time and "only" nudged on my ankle with her motorcycle front wheel.

2. Vinh - 20 Aug

Yes, that's the airplane we had to take to reach Vinh.
It's by Singapore Airlines.

More food! This time all is homemade.
Can you believe they cooked all of this within a couple of hours!

3. Cửa Lò - 21 Aug

Just about half an hour drive from Vinh, Cua Lo has different atmosphere being right on the side of a beach. And what a beautiful beach it is! We're here, of course, to have dinner of fresh seafood.

Not so impressed by the cookings though, not sure if it's the restaurant's fault or I'm not a fan of the cooking style. Except for the oysters. Well it's oysters. You can't go wrong with them.

4. Da Nang - 22 Aug

Danang is surprisingly clean and safe. I have the vibe of Penang, where we can walk by the roadside because there is a roadside, and because people or cars won't bother you.
Also surprisingly, there's so many Koreans! The annoying thing is, they're all eating Korean food or french fries. That's sad, when you can get these kind of food:

This is hands down the best meal I had in our Vietnam trip this time.
Sun-dried squid, garlic oysters, morning glory (kangkong), mi quang, and beeeeerrrrsss.

The highlight of our dinner time in Da Nang: Cha ca or Vietnamese fishcake, and mi quang or literally the noodles from Quang Nam area: 

The first time I had cha ca in Hanoi, it wasn't to impressive. But this time, it's so mind-blowing, I even finished all the vegetables! Funnily, it's the first time my Vietnamese boyfriend had mi quang, and I proudly claim that I'm the one who told him about it. We liked it so much during our lunch, we just have to find it again for our dinner.

5. Hội An - 23 Aug

Just a half-hour drive from Danang, Hoi An is great for day trip. The UNESCO site is tiny, you can walk around it in one hour. It's very photogenic. Just in a few hours we're there, we saw at least 6 couples doing pre-wedding pictures.

But another highlight is of course the food scene. There's a stretch along the river that's dedicated for food stalls. Some of the things we had are dry pork noodles, mini egg pancake, and Vietnamese pancake (respectively cao lầu, bánh căn, bánh xèo), the last being my absolute favourite.

6. Hue - 24 Aug

We weren't planning to drop by here. It's our last day but our flight is at night. There's nothing much to do in Danang except eating. So we decided to visit Vietnam's ancient capital city instead.

With 2 hours drive away from Danang, it's a bit further that I expected. It feels a bit rushed since we only spent a few hours here.

Who am I kidding, we're just there to eat. Went to the old palace to take a glimpse but we spent more time to eat. Omg, ya'll. If you think Vietnamese food is nice, you should try Central Vietnamese food. I'm so upset with myself that I didn't go there earlier.

Random thoughts from this trip:

• You have to spend at least 2 days in each city of Central Vietnam (Danang, Hoi An, Hue). Because you need at least the space of 3 meals a day to enjoy the food they have to offer.
• That's all, that's all the thoughts I have from this trip, just food-related.

My antinatalist-self: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

1. We all know it's not "a few" sleepless nights.
2. There's no guarantee he will grow up to love and respect you. It is not a given thing, you have to be a respectable person for your children to respect you.
3. Children, like pets, are not blessings, they're responsibilities. I hope more people realise this so we have fewer entitled parents in the world.

20 October 2013

20 October 2013

It's true that we can't help the people who won't help themselves. Apparently, it's not true that when you teach someone how to fish, he'll be able to eat fish for the rest of his life.

When he complained that he doesn't have enough fish to eat, you tell him about fishing. Then he'll complain that he doesn't know how to fish.

When you show him how to fish and even give him a manual on it, he'll complain that he doesn't have the bait.

When you show him where and how to get the bait, he'll complain that he doesn't know where to fish.

When you show him the good places to fish, he'll say he's too tired or not good enough at fishing to catch some fish.

So what's left to do is just to push him into the sea.

Found this old note of mine, and it still holds true even today.

A friend of mine, doesn't want to live in Indonesia anymore. So I told her to find work in another country. She said she can't really speak English. I told her to learn English then. She said it's too difficult.

Another friend of mine, wants to study in another country. So I said go then. What are you waiting for? She said she doesn't have money.
I said, there's a lot of scholarship. She said she doesn't have any info. I told her to ask around; we have friends who got scholarship in other countries before. She said she's too shy to ask.
I said Google it then. She said too many requirements, too difficult.

Then what's left to do for me is just to push them into the sea.

Just kidding.. I've learnt not to give anymore fucks.

The Irish dreams

My boyfriend is being accepted to an Irish university.
It's something that he's planned for a long time, but at the same time, came unexpectedly because he didn't expect to be accepted.

The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell.
Right to the top.
Don't look back.

So this is how it feels, getting half of everything.

Going back to writing my own journal.
Queen of My Heart playing in my head.

But it's all for the better.
Soon I'll be going.
Going to the hometown I've never been.

It's time to begin, isn't it?

My Antinatalism Anthem

by Imagine Dragons

When the days are cold, and the cards all fold

And the saints we see are all made of gold

When your dreams all fail

And the ones we hail

Are the worst of all

And the blood's run stale

I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you

But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

This is my kingdom come

At the curtain's call

It's the last of all

When the lights fade out

All the sinners crawl

So they dug your grave 

And the masquerade will come calling out

At the mess you made

Don't wanna let you down

But I am hell bound

Though this is all for you

Don't wanna hide the truth

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

This is my kingdom come

They say it's what you make

I say it's up to fate

It's woven in my soul

I need to let you go

Your eyes, they shine so bright

I wanna save that light

I can't escape this now

Unless you show me how

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide

佩佩

The world might be going to shit
but I know everything is alright because I have footages of Lee Pace feeding baby pandas:

I cannot have a normal colleague

I'm glad to report that my colleague with the incredible thoughts have moved back to her home country, ready for spawning. She's at her 2nd spawn right now. I hope she stops at two. I don't think the world can bear any more little incredible thoughts such as hers in this world.

But I can't catch a break. Even before the first is gone, the second came. Not only this second one has some similar incredible thoughts, she's outspoken too.

One outspokenness that bother me is, she really likes to report to me whenever she's going to the toilet for a big business. Or anything that's related to her big business, really. Usually it's verbal, but here's a written evidence of her favourite past time in office:

That's not the first time too. I just didn't get to screenshot her other reports.

I'm flattered that she feels the need to report to her senior in life, but I really do not need to know that particular aspect of her life.

“Planet Earth is the insane asylum of the galaxy.”

- Werner Von Braun 

"Simplicity is underrated."

- Evan T.

I found out how Donald Trump won the presidency.