Anyway for my birthday a bunch of work friend and I decided to check out Fika, a small Swedish cafe around Arab st. Really it was just an excuse to eat ;)

Loooove the ambiance of this place. There is also a second story which we didn’t get to check out (I heard it’s cozy and they even have couches!) as well as al fresco option outside along arab st.

Everyone that was present that day, plus 3 people who couldn’t fit into the picture. Thank you for coming!

Chilled traditional meatball open face sandwich – S$16.50

My coworker ordered this. I think it’s the creamy mushroom pasta + leek with smoked salmon.

Baked Cheesy Potato wedges - S$7.90 We got two of these to share across the table. I’m a huuuuuge fan of potatoes so I totally loved this. You can’t really go wrong with cheese and potatoes.

Swedish meatballs – S$17.50 – Also got two of these to share! although I think I ate most of it… at least I know I ate nearly ALL the potatoes!

Swedish Hash –  S$18.90 – my main dish! Yeah it was a total carbo overload for me that night… which was great because we went for drinks after at BluJazz and I would have definitely face planted on the bar if I didn’t eat beforehand.

So in addition to a great meal with great companion, I’ve also mastered the art of drinking without suffering from hangover the next day. I guess you do become wiser as you turn older ;)

Fika Swedish Cafe & Bistro
No.257 Beach Road / Arab Street, Singapore
(on the corner of Beach Road and Arab Street)
www.fikacafe.com 

That day, one of my closest work friend couldn’t make it to the dinner. I didn’t think much of it since we had plans for lunch later on anyway and I’m not that crazy about birthday celebrations, but the next day (on my actual birthday) I found out why – She was slaving away and baked me an ENTIRE cake that night! It was a total surprise as she brought out the cake in the office~

THANK YOU TULIKA!!! :) :)

There are days where I take living in Singapore for granted. But on most days, I am grateful. I’m grateful to be able to take clean public transport that’s readily available. I’m grateful for yummy, cheap food that are accessible 24/7. I’m especially grateful when I am walking home from work late and it’s dark outside, yet safety is the last of my concern. Singapore, despite the sentiments of its own citizens, is without a doubt the best place to live in. Take it from someone who had moved around a bit in her life :)

My second year mark in Singapore is fast approaching. In December I would have been here for for two full years. I’m proud to say within that two years I’ve seen, done and experienced things I wouldn’t have if I still lived in the states. So yay me! Even though my heart was torn into a million pieces when I left LA, moving back to Asia still continues to prove to be the best life-changing decision I’ve ever made.

I may not be updating all that often anymore but I still visit this blog often and look back on the entries. They’re especially useful when I’m having a hard day, because looking back at my travel entries is an almost guaranteed mood-lifter. Based on this blog I seem to be going on a travel adventure every 4-6 months (not counting my trips back home). A pretty healthy amount if I may say so myself :P

October and November, if plans go accordingly, is looking to be an exciting two months filled with visits from my LA friends and my first europe travel! I’m excited :)

most great writers i’ve met doesn’t know they’re great. they write because they want to. because they know how to. because it’s what comes naturally to them.

so sometimes i want to imitate them, try to be one of them and write in colorful words, all the experiences of life i’ve had thus far. but i write a blog to remember exactly how my day went, didn’t i? so i tell them as it is, as crass as they may be.

it isn’t likely to change any time soon.

thoughts that goes through my mind at 2:30AM on friday morning as i’m battling an incessant cough that keeps me from falling into the depth slumber.

I started this blog well over three years ago. It’s a bit startling to find that in that short time, a lot of the things i wrote about no longer holds true. Makes me wonder if anything i’m currently going through will still be relevant three years from now. Such a scary yet liberating thought isn’t it?

But i’m still lucky enough to have some things, people, that remaims true. My family and my bestfriend Kat. Most people don’t even have that.

Oh, the things i think about at 2:28am, when i’m supposed to be at work in 7 hours time.

There is something bittersweet about seeing images of a place you used to call home. The familiarity of its surroundings, that street you walk down every morning to get to school, and ultimately, the simplicity of life back then.

I’m tired of something new. Give me something old for a change.

Near the end of the music video, you are instructed to write a post card to your old self who lived there back then. I wrote, “You’re doing ok”.

You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception
You are the only exception

Paramore – The Only Exception

By the end of the day, after about 5 hours of walking around in heels my feet felt like they were going to fall off, but her wedding was perfect and she looked absolutely gorgeous. I hope to someday be able to experience this myself :)

I got super lucky with this pic.. the lightning turned out so perfect that I didn’t even need to color correct it! I tried to recapture the same pic with my sister but i just couldn’t get the same result again.. =(

The table behind me was basically full of dessert. it was madness!

SEE WHAT I MEAN?! DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?!

Gorgeous ballroom… this later became packed with the 1000 or so guest that attended the wedding. There is another room to the side that I didn’t take pictures of.

The wedding cake!

Us drooling at the dessert. we couldn’t touch it yet since the reception hasn’t begun.

I just thought this picture is freakin’ hilarious. no, there was no alcohol involved.

I’ve been blogging for pretty much a decade now, basically within the first year that blogger.com started in 1999 (it was all the hit within this community of girl gamers that I was a part of) and coined the term “blogging” itself. The earliest entry I could find dates back to late 2000, I was just about to turn 16, but I had been blogging long before that. I had blogged manually for awhile before making the change to blogger plus I had – at some point – lost control of my old account so I made a new one.

Now I’m about to turn 25, and only one of the few within my original group of friends that still blogs regularly. well, I know if you look at this site you won’t find too many entries at all, but I do blog regularly in a private blog. I believe it’s important to document your life, but it doesn’t mean that you have to put it out there for everyone to see.

Anyway, It’s such a weird feeling reading things you wrote ten years ago and what sort of life you lead back then, and then to compare that to how it is now.

I mostly blog for my own reference these days. Sometimes I look through my archive from 2-3 years ago. People, pictures, events, food adventures.. or even just some links or stories that you find interesting. it’s the little things that makes you who you are.

It’s your life, how could you not want to remember it?

• Korean Food. Yeah, this is #1 on my list. If you have been following my blog, you must know just how much I love korean food. yeah, I know they’ve got a few korean places in Jakarta, but I doubt it will be up to par to the ones in LA. most of all I miss all you can eat korean bbq and the yummy banchan! and soon doo boo.
• Public Transportation. They have buses here too, but do I dare step inside them? hell no. i’m not that brave just yet.
• The Weather. i whine about it sometimes, but when it boils down to it LA really does have the perfect weather. It was never too cold or too hot. in Jakarta there is only two types of weather: HOT or HOT with heavy rain.
• Traffic only during rush hour. People complain so much about traffic in the 405 or the 5, but LA got nothing on Jakarta when it comes to traffic. Last weekend I was stuck in a (heavy) traffic jam while trying to get back home. It was 11pm.
• Everything happens in LA. Annual Rock & Republic sample sale? always in LA. Britney Spears drove into a bush while trying to escape the paparazzi? I used to live 5 miles away from the site. yeah i know these are really superficial… but i’m just saying.
• Watching movies the day it comes out. Movies don’t come out in Indonesia until a good 1-3 months after its release date in the US.
• Ebay. I LOVE browsing for stuff on ebay! unfortunately most sellers will not ship to Indonesia :(
• Shopping. there are TONS of malls here, but it’s been SO HARD for me to find things of good value. everything is either too cheap and low quality or too expensive with just “okay” quality… way overpriced. I haven’t been able to find the middle ground.

1) I have curly hair! Thank you Kat for this bday / xmas present :D we went to ktown early in the morning on Saturday to get our hairs permed. the result?

It’s pretty, but I can’t just roll out of bed and go out anymore. I have to style and apply this hair product thing so I don’t walk around looking like Hermione. plus, the curl became even more defined after i washed my hair today. i can’t wait for the curl to soften up a little, then it’ll be perfect!

2) Thanks to Anna, i discovered Midnight Pomegranate from Bath & Body Works. Yesterday I bought a whole line of it: Hand cream, moisurizing hand soap, lotion and the hand sanitizer. I love how it smells fresh like pomegranate at first, then the smell slowly fades away to herby/spice smell. I’m using the hand cream regularly since I have dry hands, but we’ll see if it really works.

3) my sister got me the two leggings/tights that I wanted from express! I can’t find the exact ones online anymore, but it’s black capri leggings and black lace tights i’ve been drooling over. plus it was buy 2 get 1 free, so I got ANOTHER black tights with diamond pattern on it. I think i’m done buying tights for awhile. I have at least eight different patterns/styles already…

4) the last one will be revealed in future post(s?) ;) dun dun DUNNNN