Eastbourne in Polaroids

What started out as a rather spontaneous “OK, I’ll go.” turned out to be one of the best memories of my life so far. And I’m pretty sure I’m not exaggerating. Even with the cloudy weather and rain and the overall “so-so okay”-ness of the place itself (especially when compared to the artsy, more lively Brighton), this really was a great trip and I suppose the fact that I went with my housemates+1 contributed a lot to the fun.

To this day, I am endlessly grateful to have the amazing friends that I have now. Some people say, family is your destiny but friends are like the family member you can choose. So, let’s just say, I’m very, very, very lucky.

One of my two tumblers - the first two things I bought when I moved to London - finally broke today. And I didn’t feel anything. Except that I’ve noticed, as I grow older, I feel less and less disappointed whenever I lost/broke something. I think it’s a good thing, I hope it’s a good thing.

It’s just… I often feel ‘attachment’ makes a person more…human? But maybe I got all the concepts mixed up.

This week was another sociable, musical week with close friends. From hot pot dinner with the big group, a “triple date” on Jafnie’s birthday, to a “double date” at Bincho on saturday night.

With these social gatherings, my London life has become, in a way, more like my Jakarta life - a life spent at nice places with good food and awesome company. And despite all the “things won’t be the same once you’re older, with jobs and commitments” jitters that creep into my head, looking at how my mother and her friends live their life and maintain their friendships, I should not worry too much and try to live this moment as much as possible.

At this point, life is worth all the sleepless nights.

Did you know that the Japanese have a word to describe the fleeting moments of fading beauty? The word is 哀れ (a-wa-re), it’s like a concept of impermanence in a way, or a wistful thinking as things are passing.

I think it’s the perfect word to describe my mood lately.

It’s been a week already since school started - okay, 10 days, to be precise - and life has been really good. While I had a great time making new friends during the summer, it’s nice to finally meet my friends again and see familiar faces. Tonight we just had our ‘homecoming’ hotpot and game night, which was lovely - good food, great friends, what else can you ask for?

And as far as senior year goes, I haven’t really engaged myself with academic works. Not that I have a dissertation to work on or an assignment already, it’s just that, I was planning on being more studious this year - well, maybe later (soon, actually) when the time to prioritise schoolwork has come.

On a related note about school, I should settle the paperworks for postgrad application very soon. Uhm.

That aside, I’ve been really preoccupied with The Leopard. I never thought it’d be so much work, but I’m actually glad I decided to take on the editor-in-chief position with Alice - it’d be so hard without her, I… just love our dynamics. We just finished our editorial recruitment and we had lots of enthusiastic, experienced people to fill in those positions. I feel pretty optimistic already about this. So, that’s great.

Also, I’ve been busy with my new band. Sort of. It’s called ‘House of Broken Chords’ (HAHA laugh all you want - but I like the name) and there are five of us - me and the housemates plus our friend, Jafnie. I am supposed to be the second guitarist, but instead I’ve been using my guitar more as a percussion hahaha #fail. Oh and I also do back-up singing (oh me and my borderline guy/girl voice…)

With all these things going on, I can already see how the memories of my final year will be filled with things like these. Let alone reminiscing about all those lectures I voluntarily attend, in 10 years time or so, I doubt I can still recall the stuff Angela McRobbie talks about in that Urban Jargon 101 course (ok, it’s not the actual title of the course, d’oh). Neither will I remember my Music as Communication seminar leader, Nadya… (see even now, I can’t remember her last name!).

But, I’m pretty sure I will always remember that one fine Saturday, when my two housemates and I got free tickets for a play at the Charring Cross Theatre; then sat down at Trafalgar Square eating a £2 sushi from The Japanese Matsuri; talked about friendships over Filipino food, got cramped with hipsters on a train to Dalston; saw a friend performed Chinese songs at this basement/bar where we also talked about women’s football, Singapore history and the politics behind Eurovision with a lovely German-Polish lesbian couple (oh and let’s not forget that one Singaporean guy who came out to be from the same alma mater as Matt! - the world is a small place, when you socialise and travel indeed). That one fine Saturday, when I thought I’d be coming back after midnight, tipsy from all the alcohol, but turned out sober and slightly melancholic as ever.

Well, in no way I’m wishing things would just be this way forever. All things, good or bad, come to an end… or else there’s this thing called diminishing marginal utility, eh? #OkayLameEconJoke

It’s just,… dunno, it feels like,… if I could freeze this moment, I probably would.

rarasekar:

Walau Isyan lagi flu dan suaranya bindeng, terus Rara suaranya agak serak karena abis makan roti canai (?) jarang-jarang kita ketemu. Akhirnya kita mutusin buat bikin cover dari 2 lagu yang belakangan nempel di kepala kita gara-gara sering banget diputer di radio. Direkam seadanya pake hape Rara di salah satu ruang kelas Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, kampusnya Isyan.

Selamat menikmati ya semuanya, semoga ga pusing hahaha :p

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another friend of mine. and this is only her, jamming.

heavenly.

there’s nothing inherently wrong with working at a diner.

lately I’ve been missing my bands from junior high. I think it’s because a couple of days ago, they decided to ‘reunite’ for a night - one night jam? haha. and since I couldn’t be there, they sent me a video of their jamming session, and hell yes, I miss them. I miss us.

reminiscing the time when I was in the band(s), I thought of the gigs we used to play, the other people/bands we made friends with, the fun we had. all that was 7 years ago. how a bunch of 13-year-olds could get a gig in an adult punk-rock-emo scene is still beyond me.

I often wonder how my life would be different if I were to continue doing music. would I be doing it full-time? would I (my band) have my (our) own albums/EPs?

and what if I’m not doing media and becoming a writer?

surely things would be really different if I chose to do architecture or interior design. who knows I might actually love it, after all designing and decorating are also a few of my favourite things to do.

or what if I listened to my family and went on to study economics? maybe I would’ve spent this summer interning at banks and buying black blazers.

or, okay. I admit to having this ‘olympic fever’ in which I keep on asking myself why can’t I be an athlete (like, say, a runner or a badminton player). well, there’s no harm in dreaming…

hm, what’s gonna happen in 7 years from now? will I chop my hair short? will I be a vegan? or will I work for a NGO or the government? or will I be married with children?

it’s kinda blurry. and since my life has never been predictable, with no patterns nor specific plans, I really don’t know what to expect. and weirdly enough, I feel fine.

I am now, studying at an art/hipsterish school; living in London; with piercings, ink, and dyed hair; a budding writer with friends from different parts of the planet. and to think that, I came from a third-world country (with first world problems :p) who practically grew up with no internet and cable TV, how improbable is that to be here, now?

it’s strange. and lovely.

(and I’m still curious about how life would turn out if I were a musician! ;p)

shuitsang:

I was walking in eaton centre today and the guys with a spike moto jacket bump in to me and stutter along without even apologizing. I then sit down at the fountain and start to question the pro/cons of it. And this is what I jot down in my note:

With them- you can’t:

-Play soccers with your…

LOL you got me at southeast asian durian festival! this is sooo true though!