coriander in pho

colorful ice cream display with various cones

  • Sunday breakfast

    I’m starting Sunday (today) with a slightly posh breakfast at the Swood Coffeehouse, hahah. Ari has been watching some IG Reels of steakhouses and since we shared a same brain cell for the past 15 years, we decided to go here. Swood Coffeehouse is a part of Swood Smokehouse, with the latter’s specialty, smoked meat, being part of both’s menu repertoire. On our way here, I just realized I haven’t wrote anything about this place, despite Swood Smokehouse being our go-to for our smoked lamb ribs and beef briskets, so here it is.

    You know that saying, right, “find something that you enjoy, as it helps you get through everything.” In my case, it’s breakfast. Just like how Animal Crossing: New Horizons helped me went through the time when my son got hospitalized for three months in the middle of the pandemic, breakfasts helped me looking forward to the next day when I was in one of my lowest points. I can confidently say that my mindset is better now, and as a bonus point, breakfast is still the most important meal of the day.

    My favorite type of breakfast is the warm and savory ones. Hence, not a big fan of overnight oats or cold cuts for breakfast. Even with sandwiches, if it’s cold, I usually approach them with a mix of 30-seconds “uggggggghhhhhh” and a sense of defeat. Also, coffee. Coffee is a must. I’m not an aficionado in coffee, but I need my caffeine boost (whether I need to fix my bedtime and reduce my doomscrolling, that would be for another time of discussion).

    I ordered for Puntang Black Honey latte. It has this nice bittersweet scent and taste, which I believe from the black honey roasting process. Fun fact, you can also buy roasted coffee in packets from them. If you haven’t decided which ones to buy, you can check their samples.

    For the meal, Ari got himself a Special Morning Breakfast. Think… English breakfast (your regular call of eggs, beans, and sausages), and add a couple of smoked beef briskets.

    Add a bit of spicy BBQ sauce here

    I got myself the Smoked Brisket Mushroom omelette. It was, uh, big.

    This is a jolt of protein in the morning, because inside the omelette, you will see smoked beef brisket, mushrooms, and spinach.

    I took a couple of pictures from the menu, specifically for the breakfast section, in case you want to check out their prices.

    Their location is tucked away from Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, specifically, at Jalan Liew Weng Chee. You can check Google Maps for more info here.

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  • “Fly (飞)” – ANU

    I have been spending quite some time in Xiaohongshu (Red Note/Little Red Book), a China-based social media, and on one video, I heard this song (slowed and reverb), the video showing a view from a train going through the cold northern part of China. Someone asked on the comment section what song was this, and another kindly replied with the song title.

    The lyrics’ translation, from the Youtube comment:

    Fly. It's time you wish to fly.
    Fly. When you liberate from your own misfortune.
    At the top of mountain of hope for freedom.
    Fly now. Fly now. 

    Fly. If you wish to find that authentic consciousness, fly.
    If you wish to find that great primordial dream, fly.
    Fly. Fly now.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.

    (Chorus)
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.

    (Rap)
    Stretch our your own wings then!
    Carry out those amazing dreams then! 
    Go beyond the ocean of Samsara then!
    Fly to your place of joy & happiness.
    Then fly in search of that primordial consciousness.
    Fly~

    (Chorus)
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.

    Fly. It's time you wish to fly.
    Fly. Cross over that meaningless livelihood.
    After this, have faith in the amazing life force.
    Then fly. 

    Fly!
    If you wish to find that beautiful, radiant smile of your own, fly.
    If you wish to find that great nature of yours, fly.
    Fly. Fly.

    (Chorus)
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.

    (Rap)
    Liberate from your own misfortune.
    If you are pleased with your own self, fly.
    If you wish to find that authentic consciousness, fly.
    If you wish to find that primordial dream, fly!
    Having crossed the meaningless livelihood,
    trust the amazing life force and fly!

    (Chorus)
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.
    If you don't fly, this lifetime will be wasted.
    If you don't fly, hope will be lost.

    Read more about ANU here: Tibet’s most popular song is by a hip-hop duo whose name means ‘youthism’

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  • “The Mystery of the Blue Train” by Agatha Christie

    “And now, I need Agatha Christie.“

    I wrote, and said that, to myself when I closed the latest book that I read; a popular work of “murder mysteries” which somehow signed as horrors, and a confirmation that one should start writing on their personal space first before trying their hands to publish a publicly available book. Or choose a stricter editor.

    So! I have two more boxset of Agatha Christie’s works here:

    Each box consists of five novels. I then started with boxset Volume 1. In it, there are five titles: “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, “The Murder on the Links”, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”, “The Big Four”, and “The Mystery of the Blue Train”. I chose “The Mystery of the Blue Train” as a start because, uh, trains. While I’m not well-versed in trains and train engineering technically, trains have a soft spot in my heart. Midway in reading, I just realized that the first book that Agatha Christie published was “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, so, well, oops. I’m going to read that one after this.

    Then suddenly Katherine had a very curious sensation. She felt that she was no longer sitting alone on the seat in the Casino gardens, but that someone was standing beside her, and that that someone was the dead woman, Ruth Kettering.

    — The Mystery of the Blue Train: A Warning

    I found it unusual to see a supranatural element, or any of it, on Agatha Christie’s works, but I genuinely appreciate her skills in putting together this fleeting otherworldly scene with a tight-knit explanations and logic. Perhaps, this is her way in showing Katherine’s keen senses, considering Katherine’s previous job as a companion for old ladies and her skill in listening to others, including her surroundings.

    That said, I first thought “The Mystery of the Blue Train” would be similar to “Murder on the Orient Express”; a draft, if you will, considering the latter was published in 1934, a good six years after “The Mystery of the Blue Train”. Perhaps, perhaps, the idea sprang from there, I guess?

    Throughout this novel, I got brought back-and-forth from Paris, the Calais-Mediterranée Express, and the French Riviera. Honestly, the only bad influence this book gave me was another itch to travel using luxury trains.

    Source: Exiled in Style

    I live in the tropics, so it’s not hard to imagine the mighty sunshine pounding down the white sands and azure seas, hahah! It makes me miss Langkawi, honestly.

    Back in 2022. I miss this view so much.

    I also love how the characters in the novel were introduced in such grace and without a rush. We saw them entering a building or enjoying lunch. I love how restrained and controlled the plot feels. In some scenes, we see the characters took their time. In others, we see furnitures flung around.

    I love how unhurried this scene is. After having myself reading Uketsu for three consecutive days, this is a much needed leisure walk.

    One thing that interests me was the introduction of the character Lenox Tamplin. Somehow, her character was portrayed as less than favorable here.

    The only other occupant of the balcony was her daughter, the Hon. Lenox Tamplin. A daughter such as Lenox was a sad thorn in Lady Tamplin’s side, a girl with no kind of tact, who actually looked older than her age, and whose peculiar sardonic form of humour was, to say the least of it, uncomfortable.

    I legit thought that her character would be on par with The Bennets women from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”. Who can forgot how Mrs. Bennet and Bennet sisters (except for Elizabeth and Jane) behaved during the Netherfield Ball, amirite?

    So. Yeah. I was surprised to see how… pleasant Lenox is. She’s someone that I wouldn’t mind to spend summer in French Riviera, for sure! I love her jabs and quips whenever her mom starting to show her readiness to pounce at anyone with slightly thicker pockets around. Perhaps because I looked at her character from my 2026’s perspective, which made me feeling fond of her. Lenox, they would love you here in the future.

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  • “Strange Buildings” (2023) by Uketsu

    “It was clear you were so annoyed with the previous two books. Why are you still try reading this one?”

    “Each one of them is RM 70 at Kinokuniya. Times three, RM 210. That alone can buy all four of us decent meal at Salmon Dee Kap. I have to finish this.”

    — The conversation between Ari and I last night when he saw me entered Screaming Marmot mode yet again

    Okay, you know what, Imma just going to use a meme here.

    “Strange Buildings” consists of eleven seemingly-separated cases of, well, weird house/building plans that ended up interconnected as one huge case (hence the meme). It’s also titled as “Strange Houses #2”, so, yes, the conversationalist-style is back.

    That said, I noticed more improvements on this novel compared to “Strange Houses”. The scenes depicted were more detailed and the dialogues were not as choppy as before. “Strange Houses” felt like the first draft, and this novel felt like the said draft improved after good several sessions of feedback and meetings with the editor.

    In fact, my favorite part is this one, on the File 2: Nurturing Darkness.

    In “Strange Houses”, such off-hand ramblings like this wouldn’t appear anywhere on the novel. Everything was smack dab bam pow right-to-the-point, and that was one of the weaknesses of the novel; that’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see the dialogue between the Author and Iimura-san happened in this way for this novel. It gave such a breath of humanity on the character. It also makes the prose less juvenile.

    Now, I still wouldn’t give this novel a pass, mostly because I found that the whole thing was… … not my cup of tea. With the risk of spoiling the story, this novel is built around a cult and conspiracies, and I really can’t relate with it. I might can relate and enjoy it when I was younger, like, what, 20-25 years ago? I was neck-deep in conspiracy theories and Nostradamus at that time. Now? I found myself yelling while reading this on how these characters would be better off if they would just go book an appointment or two with psychologists or psychiatrists and save everyone’s day, much to the terrified looks from my husband and kids because it’s very very rare of them to see me reading book and being agitated.

    I also took offence on how this book wrote such abuse inflicted upon women, yet it ended up making the victims became responsible for the whole saga. Most of the times, I felt like this “macabre and thrilling!”-aspect of the book was written for shock value only. As “hook”. As “something to keep the audience engaged amidst the sea of algorithms”. There, I said it.

    When I wrote about “Strange Houses” a couple of days ago, I approached Uketsu’s background as a YouTuber with neutral feelings, but now I wonder if their job as a YouTuber made them feel that they have to spoon fed their readers all the time, or if that’s how their audience and fans are right now: Things need to be simplified with big letters and arrows. A lot of the situations on the book were perfectly okay in text, yet we kept getting “here’s a chart! Here’s a graphic to show you!” multiple times.

    Now that I have read the whole series (I hope), I would say that this series would suit well for young readers/teenagers, especially those who enjoyed mysteries, with a large caveat that if you are hoping stories with well-written characters and solid plot, this series would still have a long way to go. This series might also fare better had it been presented as manga series instead of text-based novels like this, which, they have done it. I would suggest you, whoever haven’t read this series in novel format, to just skip the novel and jump to the manga. At least that would lessen the awkwardness and weird pacing. Also, the author and their editor might want to ease off on the left hand business-thingy. At this point, I wonder what did their left hand has done to them, considering the weird laser-focus on this part of the body on two novels.

    And now, I need Agatha Christie.

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  • “Strange Pictures” (2022) by Uketsu

    Yes, the second book of the trio.

    Just like its siblings, I qualified this book as a quick read. I spent roughly 90 minutes reading this one, post-dinner. After two books, I found myself asking this question: Horror where?

    I… don’t understand why they marketed the trilogy as horrors. I’m a wimp, and I even found “Scary Movie” franchise still scary, so it took quite an undertaking on my end to brave myself getting this book (well, mostly due to the booktok had been hyping up this series) and I admit that I feel relieved that whew no ghost.

    In terms of writing technique, the second book is more fleshed out than the previous one, “Strange Houses”, for sure. We no longer see the conversationalist style and we got proper paragraphs and dialogues.

    And just like the title suggested, the main focus of this novel is the pictures that “mean more than what they seemed”.

    So! Do I find this book better than the other one? In some ways, yes. We see the story shaped better with more information and details, and I particularly loved the characters’ depth at the latter part of the book. It looked like Uketsu was “in the zone” when they wrote that part, because I could sense the emotions evoked from the pages and the struggles that each character is facing.

    However, I am still unable to get myself immersed in the mystery, simply because of how convoluted and weird it was, in a not-so-great way. Too many things going on and too many “clues and directions and misdirections”. Yes, murder mysteries and thrillers need to be tricky and convoluted, but this one was just… Too much, in a sense of too preachy. Instead of having the readers actively joining into the case, this book feels like asking for the readers to take the sideline and be a passive spectator.

    Now, speaking about misdirections, remember how I asked for red herrings on my previous post because we the readers need some misdirections for the grand twists? I wonder if Uketsu attempted to do this on this book. Ironically, instead of a proper red herring, it was… “even if that thing was not there, the story can still progressing nicely.” Especially on the chapter on the apartment building picture. It was… WHY is that picture even there with such weird drama surrounding it? The pictures used as the center of mystery feel so gimmicky and forced. It feels trying too hard to be smart, but ended up causing confusion and a lot more “uketsu strange pictures explained” search keywords on Reddit. I legit turned into the Screaming Marmot Meme mid-reading. I was that frustrated.

    Also, the words. I don’t know if it’s because this novel is a translated work, but the words used are so… simple. It was painfully simple, it felt juvenile. I’m starting to think this is Uketsu’s style: Juvenile readers. In a much sinister approach, I genuinely feel that this series is like a first-draft-but-publish-it-at-all-cost, and honestly, I feel it’s an insult to the readers and those who genuinely enjoying horrors, thrillers, and murder mysteries. I don’t know what happened with Uketsu, their publisher, and the marketing in general, but I daresay that this kind of writing might be better if it’s developed on personal level at first; such as, blog, AO3, Wattpad, a series of Threads posts, whatever. As the time goes by, the story could be built better, received feedback properly real-time, and general improvements on the technique and prose. On this current level, I personally would say that this is a good book for young/teenager readers.

    Writing this makes me wonder if I should start incorporating meme to sum up my whole opinions and thoughts about a book.

    Anyway. Next one, the last one I hope, “Strange Buildings”. Anyway, TIL that “Strange Houses” and “Strange Buildings” are the whole series (“Strange Buildings” as “Strange Houses #2”). “Strange Buildings” just recently published, so hopefully it’s better than the previous two.

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readme.txt

This is my personal blog, so anything goes. This blog has been around since 2014, which means you would, and could, see my past writings with different perspectives and mindsets at that time. While I tried to tidy things up here, I personally feel that things should not be too “clean” or polished. You see me grow and learn in this blog. This blog is a record-keeping of what I was, what I am, and what I will be. What I wrote in the past might not reflect who I am right now, nor me revisiting the topic.

While things here are generally PG-13, I must remind you that I’m an adult, which means some topics might be too heavy for younger readers.

Unless stated otherwise, posts mentioning brand names or places here are not ads/paid content.

Quick blurbs

  • Next project: Intermediate Theme Developer

    I want to develop themes that sing praises for the 2000s. I always feel we could have a bit more 2000s-era whimsy.

the blogger

Nindya. Kapkap. she/her. Indonesian in Malaysia. Millennial. Lo-fi. Post-Rock. Gregorian. Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Murder mystery genre. “Love is Love“.

Read more about me here.

Currently feeling:

The current mood of retnonindya at www.imood.com

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