"Vivere senza rimpianti"

Live life with no regret.

Those beautiful, meaningful words are tattooed on my best friend's chest. Yep, in Italian, and he doesn't speak the language. We both make sure there's no translation error though, the last thing you want is a Chinese character for "soup" tattooed on your body.

D lives in one of the most exciting capital city in South East Asia, and I'm ashamed that I still call him my best friend, because I haven't really talked to him for 2 years for no apparent reason. There's no falling out or anything like that, we just lost touch. D and I shared a bond. We knew each other since we were 10, but we've only been really spending time together when we were in the late 20s. I had a boyfriend then, he had a (or multiple) girlfriend. Next thing I knew, we made a pact that we would have the same tattoo and call each other best friend. We both moved away from home to different parts of the world, and I was still talking to him for the first 6 months or so. It's sad, but I think that's just how life is. You move away, find new friends, and while you still think about your other best friends living somewhere else, you move on. Which is why I'm happy, that I have those same beautiful words imprinted on my body as well. That way I know we'd always have something common and special that we share for the rest of our lives.

And then came the 2nd D in my life. D2 is a person who inspired me and taught me many things about life I never learned before I met him. He's someone I admired, looked up to, and loved with all my heart. I broke his heart, and now he despises me, and would never ever acknowledge my existence in his life. His words. However, that doesn't change the fact that he's someone who changed my life completely, from him I learned to always put my passion first above anything else. If you find that in life, everything else will fall together. Everyone comes into your life for a reason, whatever reason it may be, and I believe his reason to stumble upon mine for a short period of time was to teach me this life lesson, and I'll always be grateful. Those words imprinted on my body, was his parting gift for me, one I will treasure for the rest of my life.

There's a 3rd D, by the way. While I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of his existence in my life, I find him to be very similar to D2, in many many ways. Passion, inspiration, dream - these are the things that immediately pop up when I think of him. D3 comes with a heavy baggage of life, and that what makes him so intriguing. He's like a protagonist in a movie; the story of his life makes you root for him, and wish only the best things for him. You want him to have a happy ending, with or without you.

Welcome to Shanghai 上海

Finally settled in in Shanghai, so far everything is more pleasing than what I ever expected from a Chinese city. The 1st day we arrived here, our cab driver already left us a very good impression when he helped us with our luggages and made sure we found our way as he couldn't pass through the small street leading to our hostel. This is really something one can barely encounter in Xiamen, where the cab drivers are mostly impatient and somewhat rude.

Many local strangers we bumped into here are very helpful, sometimes when they see you foreigner can't understand something, they actually come over with their own initiative and try to help. Again, something I didn't experience back in Xiamen. First I thought maybe it's because more people in Shanghai speak English than in Xiamen, but one day I was on the bus and asked the driver how many stops to get to the metro station with a very low voice, the driver could even barely hear me. When it was time to get off, an old lady approached me and grabbed me saying this is where I get off to go to the metro, and even explained how to walk there. I was surprised and quite impressed as I didn't even think anyone else heard me, let alone an old lady who should already have hearing problem at her age. So it's not the English after all, people in this city might just be more helpful.

I moved into the beautiful apartment on the picture, in a not so busy area, chinese only community, I don't see any foreigners here except me and my roommate, both of us anyway also look very local.. It's a little bit dirty and less modern, this area, and our apartment building from the outside looks really really crappy, but the inside is one of the coziest apartment I've ever been into! The den by the window overlooking the Bund is just so awesome. Our landlord is also a super nice guy and very laid-back, while most foreigners need to pay deposit and 3 months rent in advance, we only have to pay rent monthly, plus he takes care of our bills and comes every month to settle it with us.

The university itself, Fudan University, although a little bit far, is a very professional place compared to Xiamen University, where the registration process was very smooth and they did not "forget" to tell us anything we need to know, they made it so much easier for us, not much queueing up like in Xiamen and going back and forth here and there to get some documents, all were done and given to us on the first day of registration, finished everything in about half an hour.

The classes so far are ok, I got into a quite advanced group, so I need to do extra work this semester. My classmates are mostly Japanese, because there aren't many non-asian people in advanced level, I even have a Malaysian and Singaporean in the class, both Chinese, and here we thought all chinese Sing and Malay speak enough Chinese to skip these language classes. But I really miss my friends and former classmates in Xiamen, I think I was really lucky to find so many good people in such a short period of time. I miss my better half there, Manolo, aka my neighbor in class through out the whole last semester, I think it's almost impossible to find his replacement ANYWHERE.

All in all, I like this city a lot, except for the super crappy weather so far: either freezing cold and super windy, or rain rain rain! I wish for spring to come soon...

1st wish list in year 2012

Did I ever mention that I love
multicolor stripes? This bag will match my metro card and iPhone casing!

Bye bye my beautiful umbrella

So it sounds I'm being a drama queen for making an entry about an umbrella, but I loved this thing very very very much. This is a not-so-cheap umbrella by the Finnish brand Marimekko, they are famous for the fabric and pattern design. On top of the nice cute flowers it's a very robust umbrella with automatic knob to open and close. Bought this on a stormy summer day in Helsinki. After 5-6 years of service it finally broke and I am indeed deeply saddened haha.. Oh well life goes on!

Little facts about the Mars Creatures.. (a.k.a Men)

Yesterday I learned a disturbing little fact about Guys. A friend said that he wouldn't ever talked for more than a couple sentences with an ugly girl. When I showed how disgusted I am, he said he confirmed it with at least 3 other male friends of his who have the same opinion, which is even worse. Exactly the perfect example of MALE CHAUVINISM?

I didn't start hating them or anything, I don't know if I can blame them, since he assured me that's just how men's brains are programmed (scan - ugly - run away). They won't even give her a chance, maybe she's the smartest wittiest funniest girl ever in the world, the nicest and the most adorable too! But anyway, none of those matters, because if she's ugly she's doomed.

And everyday a lot of people (a lot of MEN in this case) criticize girls who puts on a lot of make-up, or have a nose job, or eye lift, or even breast implants. But it is MEN who forces them to do that, because men don't give them chances. They have to be eye-catching first, then they're allowed to speak with them.

This is the difference I found in men and women, men look at women and only think of sex, they would never see a girl and think, hmm she's nice maybe I can be friends with her. Never. Girls do, and so when they start being friends with them, even the ugliest guy in the world could have the most charming character, and when a girl falls for a guy, she doesn't care anymore that he's not the most handsome guy in the whole universe.

A little chance is what every girl needs. And this is exactly why I fell for the art of make-up. Because a little bit of make-up here and there, could really transform a girl, and gives her much more self-confidence! So girls, don't think "au naturel" is better! NOT always!

LIFE

The good things in Xiamen

Joey and xiao didi at Taiwan street snack here in Xiamen! Shilin kind of thing :-D

FIVE RULES TO REMEMBER IN LIFE:

1. Money cannot buy happiness but its more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
2. Forgive your enemy but remember the bastards name.
3. Help someone when they are in trouble and they will remember you when they're in trouble again.
4. Many people are alive only because its illegal to shoot them.
5. Alcohol does not solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.
Sent from AguMa's BB

Where we kill our time

Me and Ayala (Lulu) come to these 2 cafes quite a lot, 1 is the brown sugar cafe and another is Rendevouz cafe. Lately we've been going to the latter one cuz it has less people and the we kinda know the waitress there who's always helping us with homework and whatnots, correcting our chinese pronunciation and teaching us how to say things in chinese.

In Xiamen

Finally arrived in Xiamen! (well actually a couple of days ago)
Still trying to make Facebook,Twitter,Blogger and other websites to
work with free proxy sites, but failed until now.. If this goes on, I
might have to pay for an exclusive VPN/Proxy servers to make it work
:'(

What I've been up to until today, I went around the campus, I live
just outside the West Gate of Xiamen University, which is quite
convenient. The campus is really big, I haven't gone around the whole
place yesterday, I think it could be as big as, or even bigger than
the U.W. campus. And the campus is as pretty as I remembered from my
first very brief visit to the place. It has hills or low mountains (in
CAMPUS!) and a small lake too, lots of greens, lots of old style
chinese buildings, very pretty. And outside, it's already very close
to the sea. Xiamen itself is not very big, it's an island very close
to the mainland, it has several bridges connecting to the mainland,
and it has highway flyovers, which has the constructions above the
sea, (how to explain this, I'll take pictures next time), meaning the
flyovers go around and just outside the land, the construction legs go
inside the sea, so it looks like that the flyovers are floating above
the sea, it's really cool. Indonesian government need to start
thinking about doing this, since there are no more land to broaden the
highways and such. And they have a transportation system called BRT
(Bus Rapid Transportation), so it's like Busways in Jakarta, but they
don't hog the already crowded roads, instead the built monorail-like
ways above the main roads, and the BRT buses go there. I heard that
they cannot make subways, since under the earth here is already
covered with water which makes it impossible to dig too far into the
island.

School doesn't start until next week. Tomorrow I gotta go down there
to do all the formal registration stuffs, pay the tuition etc. During
the week, we will have campus orientation, introductions to faculty
staffs, simple interviews with the faculty, and placement tests. I
don't know where I'll be placed, since I know a little too much
Chinese to be at the 0 level, but probably too little to be in the
next course. Might have to start from bottom again, which is probably
fine, that means I get to review everything, and just learn the rest
myself, by interacting with chinese people, I guess.

So I used this weekend to get myself a bit more familiar with the
city, after I went shopping for the apartment, I took a bus to a mall,
called SM Lifestyle City Plaza (SM 城市广场), which was about 30 minutes
ride. I kinda panicked inside the bus the first time, I thought it
could be that we already went pass the stop, but I didn't know it,
because I didn't think it would take such a long ride (thinking that
Xiamen is not such a big city). But fortunately I wasn't mistaken.

Anyway, what annoys me at this moment, I couldn't get my stupid iPhone
to work here! Yes it's American gadget, but with all the troubles, I
already got it unlocked, and was able to use it in Indo, so there is
really no reason that it shouldn't work in China. But it's not
working! stupid phone! I hate not having my gadget around, cannot chat
while I'm outside, cannot check for informations on the go.. *sniffs*

The picture is a view from my room on the 16th floor. Over there is
already the sea.

Make-up to copy!

Best Sienna Miller look.

Super PERFECT eyebrow, minimal eye make-up but with lots of mascara, glowing peachy blush! Very clean and pretty...
Sent from AguMa's BB

Random Kindness #4

He always lets me have the best part of a meal. The crispy skin on KFC's chicken, the last bite of noodle, etc)
Sent from AguMa's BB

#thatsmydad

-Asked me for the millionth times how to send a photo with his blackberry, and still forgets how to do it the next day #thatsmydad

-Gets extra worked up when debating with his children, about how "good" China is, and sulks and gets mad when we don't agree #thatsmydad

-A practitioner of the motto "The boss is always right" #thatsmydad

-Very stubborn, and thinks no one knows more than he does #thatsmydad

But above all that, he's someone his children are very proud of, and really look up to :

-Declined my request to transfer to a rural area in the States, but is a very good college and has a very good program I wanted to take, simply because he thought I would be bored in such a lonely small town "Remember, education is important, but connection and relationship is even more" #thatsmydad

-Imperatively told my sister to go out more on the weekends, and that she's not allowed to stay in and study for tests all weekend "Go have fun like your other sisters!" #thatsmydad

-Took action, and did the sex talk to me (not my mom), and did not make it too awkward. Told me she trusted me in everything I choose to do, and just try not to have baby before getting married #thatsmydad

Like any dad (or any guy), he has flaws and annoying habits that I couldn't stand, but apart from all that, his modern and one-of-a-kind value of life really makes him the most admirable dad in the world, and everything he taught us until today, gives me the confidence that I can apply all those to my kids in the future, and be a good parent.

(Wanted to post to twitter, it's their recent trending topic #thatsmydad, but realized there are too many things I wanna say about my dad)

Sent from AguMa's BB

BB Creams (this entry is for Monna)

Many BB creams I have tried and the effect and result from each is different. The left is the 1st bb I tried and still my favorite. Only comes in 1 color, but it makes skin looks dewy and naturally smooth. Costs IDR 98,ooo at Faceshop. However, this one doesn't have SPF.

Next one is from Maybelline, very cheap, only IDR 40,ooo I think. With SPF and makes your skin appears brighter.

The middle one is the compact BB sun balm also from Faceshop. Very practical to use, packed with SPF, and the finish is a bit powdery. But it doesn't go so great with my sometimes-dry skin, it gets flaky on certain area. In Jkt it costs almost IDR 400,ooo, but I bought it in Singapore for almost half the price.

The bb in gold tube pump bottle is from Skin79, bought it online from singapore, cost me around SGD 22, is a very popular brand from Korea. It's quite good, finishing is like my faceshop cream and is packed with SPF too. They started selling the brand in Jkt, I saw it in Metro Gandaria City.

Last one is M by Missha, Watery. For drier skin, but somehow I dont really like the watery texture. The result is not as nice as the others. My friend bought it for me directly in Korea.

Brainstorming

Beauty-zine : beauty talk, beauty Q & A, beauty tips, beauty products review, beauty tools review, beauty make-over, beauty Dos and Don'ts, beauty goodies give-away, beauty quiz, etc etc etc

Fashion shoots, fashion make-overs.. Make-up brands, make-up trials, free consults, free try-outs

Hmm...

Great bargain!!!

The nine west balerina flats I've been eyeing for a year now was on 60% sale and the last pair was just my size! Thank you God! Haha

Then I bought the second pair which is loafer style flat in pewter color, was on 50 + 10% sale, a girl couldn't resist....

And I bought a pair of jeans from Pull and Bear, haven't bought a decent pair of jeans for a while now.

All in all, I blame this on a friend, who instructed me to go shopping because she said it's "therapeutic". But you know what, if I do that everytime I feel down, soon I'm gonna need therapy to cure my shopaholism! >.<;;

On the up side, everyone who has not seen me for a while - friends, muay thai trainer - said that I've gotten so skinny. I said I don't think so because my scale doesn't say so, yes I have lost weight but only like 1.5kg, which is not enough for a friend to say that I should gain weight, which she did say. It is really the 1st time in my life that someone told me that I should gain instead lose. When I bought my jeans, my usual size 38 was way too big, I tried on 36 and still not tight. I guess they're not lying. But how come my scale doesn't agree with them? *confused*

How many more does a girl need?

Addicted to blush-ons and bronzers, especially cream blushes and the 2-in-1 lip and cheek...

From top clockwise : benefit sugarbomb, korres pomegranate lip butter and cheek, MAC rich coral, NYX cream blush in natural, skinfood lip and cheek in apricot and grapefruit, neutrogena custom glow Blush duo in Rosy Glow, neutrogena bronzer in Sunkissed, and in the middle is Shu Uemura blush mousse in Air Rose.

So addicted, these are the ones I use the most lately, I usually mix the sunkissed bronzer with nyx natural, if I want more color I add MAC rich coral...

A simple guide of life

I love running

I love running, especially in open air. Like when I lived in Frankfurt, I made it a habit to run 2 - 3 times a week (that time I was really determined to lose weight). Unlike other people who like to run a course in the park, I prefer running at the university's football ground, where I just need to run laps after laps without having to think "oh, should I turn right or left here?".

The best time was during the winter time, I woke up one morning and saw that it was snowing. And I thought of cancelling the jogging session, because it might be slippery, but it stopped snowing after a while and I was really in the mood to run. So I went out anyway, went to the football ground, and saw the whole thing white covered in snow. I tested the ground, felt ok, so I put on music and started running, all by myself, really no one was around. It felt really good, so fresh, and it was so beautiful. I ran until parts of the snow was melted by the sunshine.. I realized on that day I ran more laps than I usually did. And what I also liked running all alone like that, was that I could get drown in my thoughts and fantasies, something I couldn't normally do. Just love it...

Wish I could do that again... Now my only option is to run on my treadmill, so different. But oh well, in life sometimes you just have to take what's available right?
Sent from AguMa's BB

About taking time...

I wasn't a coffee drinker. I used to be more of a tea person. And I have no idea since when I actually started drinking coffee, I'm pretty sure a couple of months ago I still wasn't. I'm still not really a big fan of Starbucks frappe and all those fancy coffee with hazelnut cream or caramel or whatnot, just plain black coffee would do. Or black coffee with some milk and sugar. That's all.

Now I prefer to have someone to have a cup of coffee with, on an evening, or late evening, just catching up. I used to prefer chilled beer to loosen things up, but somehow I have no mood for beer anymore. It's like, I don't like getting tipsy anymore. When I'm tipsy, I'm not myself, I become this loosened-up girl, who speaks anything and everything she has in her mind, and starts flirting with guys, starts laughing too much, a tipsy-me is just a girl who's running away from her thoughts and problems. While a cup of coffee sobers me up, brings up the more calm and composed me.

I imagine sitting at a cafe, overlooking a river, a very French-y place, having a cup of coffee, maybe with a piece of madeleine. Just talking craps, like how I like it, discussing life in-depth, talking about music, movie, books, architecture, technology, or visions, and dreams, and sets of goals, obstacles; talking about the past, dirty little secrets, the present, and perhaps the future. Just taking time, having meaningless but meaningful conversation.

Sounds like a scene from a movie, eh? But that is exactly how I would like my life to be. A movie. Something worth seeing, something worth knowing about, something that can have an impact on not just me, but also other people. There must be a good plot, some humor, some tragedy, some drama, and hopefully a happy ending.

One thing about myself, I really like to take my time, I hate rushing. Just like when I lived in Tokyo, and I was literally annoyed by the japanese people, rushing and running from one platform to another to catch the next train at the interchange, when the train actually comes every 2 - 3 minutes. Really, what's the problem losing 2 - 3 minutes of your life, when you can actually enjoy your day more, watching people around you, or just talking to a friend. I really take my time when I eat, I'm officially now the slowest eater among my friends. I take my time during shower too, I just love the feeling of hot water running through my body, from head to toe. I used to rush myself to get married, partly because of the social pressure, partly because I was afraid I couldn't have kids if I wait too long. But I don't wanna do that anymore, getting married should be for the right reasons at the right timing. If God gives me children, then I would be really grateful to Him, as I'm already grateful for my well-being right now. Now I'm taking my time to find a goal in life. And I hope no-one would bitch at me about that...