coriander in pho

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(Another) Langkawi Trip, Malaysia Day

September 17, 2022 7:22 pm

Not to be confused with Malaysian Independence Day on August 31, Malaysia Day commemorates the establishment of Malaysia confederation when Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore united into a single state in 1963. Singapore separated from Malaysia two years later in 1965.

It’s a long weekend for Malaysia Day, and we decided to go to Langkawi since the kids have been wanting to go to Langkawi after I came back from a team meetup.

At first we wanted to just chill at the hotel, but then Ari saw Jupeter Holidays kiosk at the hotel lobby so we decided to take island hopping activity for Saturday activity: Visiting three islands surrounding the main island with boat: Dayang Bunting Island, Singa Besar Island, and Beras Basah Island. Each island has its own attractions: Dayang Bunting is part of Langkawi Geopark with natural conservation and freshwater lake (the lake was formed after a giant ancient cave collapsed,) Singa Besar island offers mangrove and eagle feeding, and Beras Basah island has beautiful white sand beach with calm waters, perfect for swimming and chilling out.

And yes, we are planning to visit Langkawi again next year, with more activities in mind ? Skycab, island hopping (again!), and sunset dinner cruise!

OldTown White Coffee Café at Langkawi International Airport

Lavender sunset

The chefs on the BBQ night at the hotel!

Stuff that I found during my morning walk by the beach

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We reserved a boat just for the four of us. You can either reserve/charter a boat for your group only or have it shared with others. For personal charter, the payment is RM 400.

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Wira saw a couple of monkeys on our way to the freshwater lake in Dayang Bunting island

Dayang Bunting island in the background. It looks like a sleeping pregnant lady (hence the name, “Dayang Bunting”)

The freshwater lake inside the island where folks can swim

Eagle feeding. The eagles descended when the boat captain threw the food to the water

Fun fact: During the eagle feeding, you will see two types of eagles: The brown eagles are the ones that’s the symbol of Langkawi. The black-and-white ones are sea eagles.

I keep seeing this kind of black stones in Beras Basah island. Is this vulcanic?

My favorite activity: Collecting sea shells (and returned them to the sea)

And as usual, Youtube video!
“Not right”

September 12, 2022 7:48 pm

Earlier today, I was reading this post by my colleague: “Well, that was weird”.

The post talked about the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and how things feel so… weird.

I’m an Indonesian, and if my memory from my History class still correct, England (East India Company) didn’t occupy Indonesia that long, compared to the Dutch’s Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) that settled in the country for a freaking 3.5 centuries or so. Indonesia fought for the independence and never been a part of any commonwealth with any European-based country.

So when the news about the passing broke, I thought I can just shrug it off and get on with my life as usual.

But dude, the… feelings. That kind of surreal feelings you have as you see the news articles, tweets, Tiktok videos… I remember I saw Charles and Camilla’s picture on my Facebook timeline with a caption: “King and Queen”, and I found myself muttered, “… … … what?”

I don’t have anything against Charles, but it’s just feel “not right,” you know? Something is no longer familiar, and it feels like you are missing a piece of puzzle. You are holding a puzzle piece and you know the piece will fits, but it’s not the same puzzle piece.

I don’t know if this is called as mourning. Perhaps not, but it’s definitely a different feeling far from “happy” or “sad” or “angry”. It’s that dumbfounded feeling that caught you off-guard.
On being a partner in a relationship

September 9, 2022 2:46 pm

Yesterday, we were on a car to get the kids to school when the radio DJs chatted about relationships. One of them mentioned about this person that has been worrying about her new relationship with a guy. This person, a girl, said that the guy she’s currently dating is her second time. She worries that she can’t be a good partner because she feels she’s lacking in experience in dating.

I found that discussion seeped into my mind more than I thought (I would blame my pre-coffee brain at that time,) and I feel… You don’t have to have a lot of dating experiences to be a better partner, no? ?

One of the DJs pointed out a really good case. “The downside of having a lot of exes is the emotional baggage, man. When I meet my boyfriend, then-husband, I got A LOT of emotional baggages and issues that I have to fix first!”

I also not agreeing with the concept of “dating as an exercise”. It makes it sounds like a sport or academic exercise, and that’s… Weird. In a relationship, you are not in a static mode. You constantly learn and grow, and as helpful and kind your partner is or will be, it does not mean you see them as a sparring partner or someone that’s responsible of your growth.

I have several exes and flings, yes, and I don’t think I’m a better person when I met my boyfriend-then-husband when we started dating. I might be an even worse person at that time. Had I had more exes, will it make me a better person and a better partner? I highly doubt it.

I personally feel that to be a better partner, one needs to be a better person for themselves first. This will sound so “LOOK INTO YOUR HEART”-motivational speech thingy, but that’s what I learned so far. The number of past relationship that someone has does not define whether they are a good partner or not. For some, it might be seen as “experience,” yes. For some, it might be seen as “player”. In the end, it’s a lose-lose situation. I can imagine someone with a lot of exes is seen as a player, and one without is seen as n00b ?

To be a better partner, one needs to understand the concept of consent, respect, humility, sense of humor, responsibility, and many more. All that can be learned from many ways, not necessarily from romantic relationship alone. It can be learned from relationship within the family, friendship, work environment, and even strangers we meet on the streets. Having past relationships that didn’t work would be one of the lessons, but never make it be the ultimate lesson.
Symphonic Anime by Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

August 27, 2022 10:36 pm

Anime songs/soundtracks are nothing new for orchestra. Joe Hisaishi is one of the maestros of orchestra and he has been delivering tons of fans’ favorites, most notably from Studio Ghibli’s movies.

Performing anime songs is part of MPO (Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) routines and it’s quick becoming the most-awaited events. Tickets tend to sold out in a matter of minutes, and the orchestra even had to add more showtime to accomodate fans’ requests. I personally feel this is really awesome, as general public sometimes still think orchestra is something ultra serious and “respected” while MPO actually just… Chill out with the audience and even wearing Kaonashi (No Face) costume from Studio Ghibli’s “Sen to Chihiro” (Spirited Away).

This concert was not our first time, although it was the first orchestra for Rey. Our first MPO performance was “Ratatouille in Concert” (yes, THAT Disney Pixar “Ratatouille”) back in 2016 with Gerard Salonga as the conductor. You might be wondering how MPO allows children in the venue; it’s part of their program! The orchestra has a Family Day program regularly. One of the orchestra’s missions is to introduce the orchestra and music to the public, and they provide Family Day for child-friendly shows.

Also! Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra performed “Bella Ciao” with Yuna for Netflix’s “Money Heist”. I MEAN— YUNA, MY QUEEN.

Anyway! We enjoyed the concert so very much! I really love how Naohisa Furusawa-sensei, the conductor, brought up the energy and the passion from the anime shows to the music. Furusawa-sensei even shared with the audience his memory of reading Shonen Jump! magazine when he was in junior high school and mentioned fondly of how Ultraman Seven was his childhood hero — and yes, the orchestra performed songs from Ultraman Seven!

The performance was closed with “Guren no Yumiya” from “Attack of Titan” (Shingeki no Kyouji ) and the venue was filled with thunderous applause. Wira mentioned how he wanted to watch anime as soon as we arrived home ? (he has been watching “Beyblade” and “Spy x Family” on Netflix.)

When you are in Kuala Lumpur, do give Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra a visit!

With the staff. They are wearing costumes too! So fun!
Expressive Architecture Sketching with Colored Marker

August 26, 2022 9:47 pm

That’s the name of the course I’m currently taking.

I never really thought of pursuing my hobby in drawing in a more serious sense. I used to think that I can just be content with what I have now.

But a chat with a coach changed my mind. We chatted “the life after Automattic”, and I realized that I didn’t have something that I actually really proud of. I know I can draw, but do I know how to draw?

I then thought about activities I can do, and one of them is taking online courses. I always thought that online courses will take weeks with intensive lessons, until I checked Domestika and decided to see what’s up.

I stumbled on the course “Expressive Architecture Sketching with Colored Marker” with Albert Kiefer (his Instagram account is “housesketcher”) and I decided to give it a try.

Urban sketching has been a thing that I wanted to be good at, but no matter how I tried, I always felt that disappointed pang whenever I see the results.

Throughout the lessons, Albert keeps focusing on one thing: The courage to just… do. Just pull a line, who cares whether it’s wonky or straight. Just make the first floor smaller, it’s cute. Imagine a story, perhaps these two buildings are fighting with each other.

Be courageous.

This is not a sponsored post and I don’t receive anything neither from Domestika or Albert. I simply love the courses and Albert is awesome and a terrific teacher. If you would like to give it a try, feel free to check it out here: Expressive Architecture Sketching with Colored Marker

Quick blurbs

Saw this site mentioned the other day on Slack: neocities.org.

Scroll down and you will see “Featured Sites”. Never knew it brings back early 2000s, and it makes me so, so happy.

April 23, 2026