A Year in Review : 2013

2013?
Oh well.. What can I say? 2013 has been so exciting yet challenging for me. It is The Year of Travel, if I can give an award to it. But of course I have my dark hours too.

After all, life is not always full of sunshine and smile, isn’t it? But I’ve also learned, that even if you have the most bitter cake in the world, you can always sprinkle an amount of sugar and cinnamon on it. Well at least, to make it tasted better.

January

I started this year by travelling to the beaches in West Java with Fred.This is probably our very first road trip together. And we were very excited. And guess what? It was totally not on our plan. I remember how I was just complaining that my boring holiday is ending really… really soon. And then Fred suddenly had this idea. So, we packed our stuffs and go! We visited Anyer Beach…

Then Carita Beach, Sawarna Beach, Pelabuhan Ratu, Loji Beach, and headed back home.

February

I thought February is going to be just okay. You know, just an ordinary university life which is full of never ending tasks and quiz, and that kind of stuff, aside from my birthday. But then, my grandma suddenly called me and said : “Hey, I’m going to Singapore next week. It’ll probably gonna be a 5 days holiday. Are you going with me or not? “.

And I was like, should I got or not? Because you know, if I go, I’ll miss some classes and unfortunately, an important quiz. But then I don’t know what got into me and I said yes.

I had a very memorable time with my grandma, mom, sisters and cousins in Singapore. We went to Universal Studio Singapore for the very first time. And of course, exploring more local Singaporean foods – which I adore.

March 😦

March has been the darkest month of the year. I found out that I somehow had an endometriosis, which later I found to be a common problem for women. I know there are a lot of women out there fighting for the same problem. And I know that it ain’t easy, I swear it’s not. Sometimes I get a severe abdominal cramps and pain that can flare up at any time. And the worst part is, that you know there is no cure for that. I’ve been crying the whole night for about a month or two. And I found it to be exhausting. It’s just sad that you know there’s something wrong about yourself, and you can’t help it. The doctor can’t help it. You constantly tried on some diet program or detox for weeks and months. But you later found it doesn’t work at all. It is just exhausting and people won’t understand. Well, lucky me that I’m a tough cookie. I get through this. And I also learned to always keep my mind as positive as possible. And it really helps.

Okay…. enough with the bitter cake. The show must go on. So we’re moving forward to April! 🙂

April 😀

Guess what? I received a very good news in April. Probably the best news of the year I’ve ever heard. Fred and I got accepted as an intern in one of the IT Company in BALI! I was like… “So, we’re gonna spend our whole summer in Bali? Life can’t be any better!” And I’ve never been so grateful in my life. I found myself giving thanks the whole time – which rarely happens.

Okay, so I spent the whole month dancing and singing about summer. The summer wind~ came blowing in~ from across the sea~ 

June and July

Summer is finally here! Fred & I traveled by car from Jambi City, our hometown in Sumatra island, to Bali. Believe me, it was the most exciting yet tiring road trip I have ever experienced. And also the longest one! (Around 1500 miles). We crossed the sea twice by riding the ferry boat & we found some interesting cities along our way.

Living in Bali is so much different compared to my life in Bandung. The people, the place, the foods, everything.. everything is different.

We learned to surf for the very first time. And we also went snorkeling for the first time!

There are so many my-first-time moment when we lived in Bali. This is kinda embarrassing, but I also experienced my first time eating gelato.

Anyway, we also attended some interesting events :  Bali 35th Kite Festival and 3rd Jazz Market By The Sea. And guess what? Fred found his dream place! Yup it’s Deus Ex Machina. While I also experienced my dream life style : exploring foods and writing about it.

I got invited to Cuca Flavor and Bho Bho Thai as a food blogger. And I was like : “How’s that even possible? ME???” Well, thanks to Bayu Amus who introduced me to Cuca Flavor 🙂

Friday night? Fred and I have our favorite place. It’s in Sanur Beach, and there’s this hotel holding Weekend Beach Market every weekend. You know, beach, market, food, and jazz could never go wrong, right?

And there are just so many things we did last summer. You can probably just check it out here in Bali section.

August

August means a month before my holiday ends. After we finished our internship, we headed back to Bandung. And of course, we made a pit stop along our way. Guess what? We had a guest! Cindy, Fred’s sister, join us during our way back to Bandung.

We went to Mt. Bromo and I was so amazed how clear the sky actually is at night. I can’t even count the stars as it’s too many. And my eyes was not blinking the moment the sun rises. It’s just so beautiful up there.

Later, we continued our journey to Batu. We found some interesting places there. One of our favorite is Batu Secret Zoo and Museum Satwa.

September and October

September and October? Not much to say. I’ve been hardly thinking and struggling for my thesis. It’s confusing sometimes. Well, all the time. It’s just another ordinary months. But I write a lot of things in my blog 😉

November

Well, November is kinda different. I attended a final round of web development competition in Udayana University, Bali. My mom was like : “Bali AGAIN?” Well, yes mom. I enrolled myself to participate in the competition because the final round is held in Bali. I wish I could live there forever.

Anyway, this time I went alone. Fred didn’t come with me. But I did spend my days with Gaby. She’s such an adorable girl! She picked me up everyday after she finished baking buns for her bakery, then we’ll go finding something to eat, or somewhere to have our chit chat over coffee. Then when it’s late at night, she’ll drive me back to my hotel and the same thing goes on and on every single day. Expect the food she bought me. It’s going to be different every day! She gave me some buns, doughnut, apple cake, some deliiiiiicious pie. Well, I guess that’s one of the best thing of having a friend who owns a bakery 😉

I’m so grateful for that. I was surprised that we could actually talk that much. It’s like… there’s always gonna be a topic.

Good thing happened. I made it to the runner up, yay! 😀

I also got invited by The Mulia Bali as a food blogger. Gaby and I had such a great lunch time in The Cafe @ The Mulia, Bali. Then I had a chance to have a breakfast at one of my favorite spot in Bali – The Porch. We also found somewhere else interesting for brunch. It’s in Revolver Espresso. It’s kinda popular for its coffee at this moment – one of the best in Bali they said.

December

Oh yes here comes December, my favorite month of the year. I love it when it rains everyday here in Bandung. I love the Christmas tree, the carols, the cake, the warm greetings, the weather, the idea of Santa and his gifts. I love it all. Fred also came by for a visit and we had a sweet dinner at Jubilare, Bandung.

Psst. I also bake A LOT on December. I don’t know what got into me. I just feel that baking is a stress reliever. I usually bake at night and I’ll have what-I-bake for breakfast the next morning.

And guess what? My sisters are coming to Bandung this Christmas and I’m so excited since it’s been a quite long time since we last met each other and I kinda miss them. So, when they told me about their plan to stay in Bandung for a week next week, I couldn’t help myself from smiling!

Told ya! 2013 got its ups and downs. But surely it’s the best year of mine so far. Tell me! How do you spend this year? I would love to read your story as well.

Always remember that life is not always full of sunshine and smiles. But you can always sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon, like I did. So, good luck! 🙂

Psst. I’m going to Singapore and Vietnam in January so I’m hoping 2014 would be even more delightful!

And thank you, always, for reading.

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