Out Of My Head

001. Hello from the Oustide

at_midnight — Mon, 22 May 2023 20:27:32 GMT

Anyone in here?

I am having a sudden burst of inspiration to come here today. My password had to be changed. I checked that the last post was in 2019. Guess what ... it's 2023 now,

I survived 3 years of pandemic (boy 2020 was totally blindesided us, huh?). Life pretty much almost return to normal (except for the mask that we still have to use in public transportation). I got all my family and friends (Allah has been the Most Merciful because we are all still here). I traveled abroad again (to Turkiye in 2022, to Thailand in 2022, also Singapore and Seoul/South Korea this year). I did a LOT of walking tour in my own town - I LOVE doing that (I have only discovered walking tour organizer in 2022).

Work has been pretty interesting because I'm now working hybrid - meaning if I don't feel like it, I work from home. I use to hate bringing work to my home, but now I also adapt. I have this small table I consider as "workplace", so when I put that aside, my home is well, private again.

That's pretty much the last 4 years (since I posted anything here) in recap.

009. Running Race Again...

at_midnight — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 07:20:39 GMT

I decided to register for another 5K running races. Scheduled in September and October. I figure maybe I can try to enter at least one race each month. I can understand the feeling of being addicted to it. There's something so freeing when you are crossing that finish line, you know?

So I didn't run for 12 days because I'm fasting (it's Ramadhan); and it's virtually impossible to run in the morning because I cannot drink anything afterwards, also I have to leave earlier to the office. AND I cannot really do it before/after iftar on weekdays as well since a) I haven't reached home before iftar and b) we have other prayers to do after iftar. I can only do running before iftar on weekends. I did that last weekend and BOY, did it feel good. I can't believe I am ever saying this but I miss running for that 12 days.

Anyway, I'm on my period now, so I can pick up my running shoes and do morning run tomorrow before I have to leave to the office :)

004. The X-Files Revival: My Struggle

at_midnight — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 08:54:40 GMT

To be perfectly honest, it is not one of their best. Heck, it's not even of of their good ones. It felt stilted and off, and Mulder definitely looked exhausted. Having said that, the reviews for the next two episodes are coming in and it's exactly what I've been actually predicted; that the monster-of-the-week theme is going to be better than the mythology. So yes, I want to believe. And I still believe.

Because it has been 20+ years, and Mulder/Scully is STILL my #1 OTP.

003. Music in 2015

at_midnight — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 06:13:22 GMT

Well, I don't really keep track of music to be honest. I mean, sure I listen to songs, mostly because they're soundtrack from TV series I watch, or I listen to it from the radio (in those RARE times I actually listen to the radio), or I check Billboard Top 100. But I couldn't really form a top ten list of songs. Having said that, I do have 5 albums released in 2015 that I listened more than ten times *LOL*.

TOP 5 ALBUMS IN 2015

I think I have listened to Adele'2 25 for 100 times now *LOL*. Seriously, during the first two weeks after the album was released, I must've listened to it at least 5 times a day!!

002. Movies in 2015

at_midnight — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 05:56:24 GMT

So, I watched 31 movies in 2015 ... that is like 10% higher than last year *LOL*. Of course, out of the 31 movies, only 22 movies are released in 2015 *hang head in shame*. So I couldn't make a Top 10 List. Instead here are my Top Six movies ... the criteria is the movies I rated at least 7/10.

TOP MOVIES 2015 (released in 2015)

LEAST FAVORITE MOVIES (released in 2015)

Seriously, everyone talked about how GREAT Mad Max: Fury Road was, the female character, the action, etc. etc ... and all the while when I watched it I was BORED TO DEATH, and ended up playing with my phones. It was one of the most overrated movies I've ever encountered. Yep, 2 hours of my life I couldn't get back. Wish I spend it reading a kick-ass urban fantasy instead. You know, like Kate Daniels instead of Furiosa. Jurassic World was also BORING, gah, so uninspiring, totally unnecessary sequel. And The Man From U.N.C.L.E ... I was this close to sleep throughout the movie!! Henry Cavill is NOT the actor for me, after starring that Man of Snooze (borrowing malicat 's term).

Hopefully I'll do better in 2016

001. Happy New Year 2016

at_midnight — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 21:51:25 GMT

As always, I am not going to make a lot of New Year resolution stuffs -- I learn a long time ago that sometimes it's easier to go with the flow, and make adjustment here and there instead of making a list of resolutions. I'm flexible that way *lol*. I think my biggest achievement in terms of personal thing is being able to run my 5k and shed around 9 kilograms, by doing it right (rather than going on strict diet, which never works).

So the only goal that I know I want to do this year is running a 5k events. Other than that, well, let's see what 2016 will bring...

015. I made my running goal!!

at_midnight — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 05:11:12 GMT

See that, that is my fastest 5k run so far. Under 35 minutes. So I could marked down one goal this year (ha!). So next year, I am totally going to try running on events. I want to be able to collect those finisher medals too!

014. Another Update on Running

at_midnight — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 01:58:28 GMT

So on Sunday, I hit another achievement in my running exercise. About a month or so since I ran my first 5k, I was able to run my FIRST 6K!! Whoo hooo. Go me!! On top of that, my average pace was also the faster ever (I have never been able to run below 8 min/km). I am so proud of myself. One kilometers at a time, Ami! And I know that I can hit that 10k in the future.

In the meantime, I found that thinking about running definitely geared me up in the morning. I mean, nowdays, I think about how long should I run today, or which route to take today, or whether to hit a distance goal or a time goal ... my brain is busy planning and it feels good. I can understand why people can say that running is addictive. I still have my rest days of course, or time when I feel too lazy to pick up my sport shoes and go outside. But always a day after that, my brain is thinking about running again.

You know what, this actually brings me into a goal that I want to achieve for next year. I want to enter a 5k running race :). I can do it, right?

013. Running Progress

at_midnight — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 09:07:17 GMT

Endomondo (the app I used to track my running progress) emailed me this -- apparently in September I have run 63 km. Wow. For someone who hated running before 2.5 months ago, who couldn't even run for 5 minutes straight, this was pretty good, right? Let's see if I can improve in October. I sure think that it's time for me to increase my distance. This morning I ran for 5.2 km -- it was my 6th time running 5k and what I noticed was that after 5k I actually felt that I could run a little bit further. I just didn't because my goal was for 5k.

But yeah, maybe it was time to grab that 10k training app which could help me running a little bit further than my usual

012. Losing Weight

at_midnight — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 02:01:52 GMT

I have been doing my exercise for the past 2+ months as well as trying to manage my daily calorie intake... and well, I have lost 9lbs now. I think the determination for losing weight came to me about 3 months ago when a friend of mine showed me a link of a blogger who has lost a lot of weights. The blogger did a much more strict eating plan (which probably why she lost way more lbs than I did in the same time frame) but that wasn't what inspire me. She said she began running regularly after downloading a Couch-to-5k app.

THAT was what inspired me -- the idea that ME, this couch-potato girl could run for 5k. So I followed up the app instructions, and yes, I ran my first 5k two weeks ago. I have ran 5k three more times after that. I run 3-4 times a week now (not each run is a 5k run though). I'm building my speed and try to run faster (my target is by the end of the year, I could run 5k within 30 minutes instead of 42-43 minutes like I do now).

I guess that's what help me losing weight as well. I still eat pretty much like I do before. I have my 'indulge' days where I can eat more. BUT I also try to check out my calorie intake, so if it's too much, I try to shed the calories by doing a little cardio at home (I downloaded the short low impact cardio from Youtube).

Overtime, I hope that this is just a beginning of my trying to live a healthier life. I can't stop eating what I'm eating now. I love food way too much to stop eating junk food or meat or indulge on those chips *lol*. But now I just need to add exercise on my daily routine, right?

011. Being apart with my sister

at_midnight — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 07:36:36 GMT

So in 10 days, my sister will leave to Japan.

This time, she will stay there the longest (from all of her visits). It will be around 4 - 5 years because this time she is taking her PhD degree. I have never been separated from her this long. I mean, yes, we might leave at different places since we moved out from our parents (though for the last few months she and her husband stay with me while waiting for her departure) -- but we still live in different city. This time it will be different COUNTRY (the longest she lived in Japan was back in 2003-4, around 10 months) altogether. And when she comes back, I will already be 41 years old. Gah!

My sister is still one of my closest friends. I mean, I don't talk to her everyday when we're apart, but I know I can talk to her about things. She knows about my asexuality (though she never claims she "understands" it). She might not always the easier person for me to convince about things I believe in (she dislikes romance novels, for example, haha!) but it's easy to talk to her.

Darn, I'm going to miss her a LOT. Not like she can come home everytime and visit. The quickest she can visit is probably if she needs to extend exit permit or something.

010. I DID IT

at_midnight — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 13:40:55 GMT

This day needs to be marked because...

Yep. After 8 weeks of running every other day, using an app to help me train myself, I finally ran my first 5k. I hope this would be first of many. And who knows, in the future, running 10k will no longer be just an impossible dream for me.

009. Running Progress

at_midnight — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:00:01 GMT

Today's morning run

Which means I'm getting closer to my 5 km (3.1 miles) target.

I can do this!

008. Concerts. Noises

at_midnight — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 07:44:48 GMT

So today in Jakarta, Bon Jovi will have a concert. Some of my friends are going -- mainly they're the ones MY age haha. Me? Nope. I never really like going to concerts and such. I mean the idea of being with those MANY people in one place. Or waiting in a queue. The introvert me will rebel. Just too much noise!

007. Coloring!!

at_midnight — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 09:51:12 GMT

So I was introduced to coloring books via tomatoe18. I mean, I sort of heard about this becoming a trend but I have never thought about doing it before. I always think it's better to read or watch a movie (or sleep) during my free time. But when I met tomatoe18 awhile ago, she brought one of those's coloring book by Joanna Basford and I was intrigued.

So I ended up buying Basford's "Secret Garden" via one of the online stores. I'm not exactly obsessed with it; I mean I don't do it every night for example (sometimes I prefer my Kindle than the book). BUT, when I was done with one design, it was pretty satisfying.

006. Running Progress

at_midnight — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 02:38:01 GMT

Sunday I was finally able to run 30 minutes straight for 2 miles. Of course it is nowhere competitive stage but for me that doesn't matter. I have never been able to run for more than couple of minutes. But now, after 6 weeks, I can do it for 30 minutes. It's a personal achievement, disregard the distance that I cover for those times. Running is running, right?

I will try to keep this pace for this week (I run every other day, usually) and see if I can progress to cover more distance in 30 minutes for the next week. Or whether I can run longer than 30 minutes.

005. Food. Food

at_midnight — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 11:28:23 GMT

So today I had brunch/lunch with lada_hitam. She brought to my attention a new eating place around Blok M area called Food Fighters.

It's basically like a food court, with few food vendors under one roof. Most of their foods are, well, heavy stuffs. I skipped breakfast (I only ate mango) so I could eat more at this place. But I tried to avoid the burger and the noodles because I wanted to try more and I wasn't sure if my stomach was big enough for those. Unfortunately, that place, even if they advertised that they opened at 10 AM, wasn't really ready AT 10 AM. Most of the vendors were not opened yet when we arrived. And the one menu I wanted to try the most? It wasn't ready EVEN until I was ready to leave. BUMMER.

Here's the collage photo. I didn't eat them all by myself ... lada_hitam and I shared everything except for the Virgin Mojito (no alcohol, just soda)

So what did I do to prepare for it? I didn't run this morning because I felt my knees were rather in pain. So I jumped into the pool (I wouldn't call it swimming, I just didn't do enough techniques to do so, let's just say I was kicking the water leisurely *ha*) and did about 15 minutes cardio when I got back home. Hopefully it paid for all those calories I was consuming for brunch/lunch *haha*.

004. Trying New Eating Place

at_midnight — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 04:44:59 GMT

Ever since I bought my own place last year which located Central Jakarta (rather than at the suburban area where my parents live), I haven't really used the opportunity to explore culinary places in Jakarta. I am very lazy, I guess. I could go, but I don't like to go out at night. I have a specific sleeping time. I hate going out at night. However, on weekends, I also prefer to stay home. I'm a true introvert. I need my me-time. I need time to actually do nothing, just stay home in my bed, reading or sleeping. I use my weekends for that.

BUT, I decide that maybe I should try to do that. At least once in awhile. It's nice to be able to savor foods in new places. So this morning, I left my place early to try Bakmi Ayam Karet Krekot, at Jl. Samanhudi. The place, luckily, is very close to train station. So I could just use it without having to use so many public transportation to reach it. The uniqueness of this noodle is the texture, which is bigger and rather rubbery. I liked it.

Oh, and this is a view-photo of my apartment building. I don't think I've shared it here before.

PS: I am trying to use this journal more frequently again. It's nice to have a place to write random stuffs. Even if I'm not back to it 100%

002. On Sunday

at_midnight — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 05:34:57 GMT

Well, two things happened on Sunday. First was this ...

Yep, I am half-way on to my 5k run target. Took me 5 weeks to get here so I still have a long way to go. But now I can imagine myself doing it. I can do this. I never thought that I could run for 22 minutes straight without walking. But hey, that's what practice is for, right??

Second, I donated blood again. I mean, this is another activity that I try to do regularly. A promise I made myself since last year. Of course, afterwards, I felt like sleeping all the time. So basically, after I ran Sunday morning, I became pillow hogging girl by noon and afternoon *lol*.

001. Small Personal Achievement

at_midnight — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 05:10:14 GMT

Wow, first of all, it has been almost a year since I posted anything here... yeah, I know, LJ is no longer my playground. Having said that, today I'm posting something because of two reasons ... 1) I want to write about the small personal achievement and 2) I'm sort of testing this new LJ notifications feature (yes, lada_hitam, I am thinking of you)

Okay, so the small personal achievement...

I RUN FOR A MILE TODAY (without walking)

Yes, I know, it's a SMALL thing compared to any other kind of achievements. But small is relative, and for me that is something significant. I'm not a runner. I never really do exercise. My idea of exercise is waking up from my bed (haha). Around 5 - 6 weeks ago, though, lada_hitam pointed out to a website which then led me to that C25K app. It made me think that hey, maybe I could do this. Maybe I could actually run for 5k (3.1 miles). It's still a long way to go. I only run every other day, not yet every day. And my time is still bad (by this speed, I will run 5k in 45 minutes LOL).

Still ... I run for a mile today without walking and I have never been able to do this before. So yay ME!

001. An IMPORTANT Update

at_midnight — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 22:56:14 GMT

Wow, I haven't been here for 10 months! I am still not returning because most of my discussions now happen elsewhere. HOWEVER, I do have an important update in my life that I want to share by way of writing. Goodreads or Booklikes or Twitter simply don't feel like the right place to do it (though I might cross-post somehow). Even if I'm not sure anyone even read this journal anymore.

Still. I have news and I need to write it down.

I BOUGHT AN APARTMENT

Yep. I finally have my own place to live. All these years, I either stay with my parents or rented a room (so distance to office will be closer). It is an important phase of my life -- because I was determined to have my own place by the time I was 35 (I had my 35th birthday last month).

It didn't go as smoothly as I wanted though. I was rejected home loan from banks because I had 3-years gap of employment record -- the time that I resigned and went back to school. Banks stated that in order to be eligible for home loan, I needed to work permanently for the last 2 years. They didn't care that I worked for almost 10 years before the gap. What mattered for them was the last 2 years.

SO I had to borrow a soft loan from my father. It was my last option to be honest. I didn't want to use borrow his retirement money. But he said that as long as I paid him monthly in the amount that I would pay the banks, he would be fine with it (because it would be like an income for him, now that he retired). Plus I promised him that if I got extra money, I would pay more, so my debt would finish sooner than expected.

I guess this image said it well...

The apartment is not a new unit, it does come with some STANDARD furniture. I'm not planning to redecorate or change any of it right now, since I practically withdraw ALL of my money to buy this. I pretty much DO NOT having an savings right now. I can't afford to change anything and I must take it as it is. I have not officially moved there though because I still need to spruce the place a little bit with some items before moving in. Like buying a washing machine (this is not an apartment that is equipped with public laundry room like in the Western world), an iron, some shelves, and even bed sheet.

Will let you all know when I move in and maybe even take photos of it.

002. This Is The End (For Now)...

at_midnight — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:20:26 GMT

After a decade being here, I'm sad to say that this journal is finally on PERMANENT HIATUS. It is sad because it has been a marvelous experience being here. Plus I made really good friends. Unfortunately, I don't see myself ever writing here about things (life, fandoms, travel, etc) the way I did. So why bother. I don't plan to renew my paid account. I don't know when I will go back here. So, feel free to defriend me.

I am now a more permanent fixture on Goodreads. Sometimes I also appear on Twitter.

053. Favorite Books Read In 2012 ...

at_midnight — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 22:13:06 GMT

Again, this is where my interest lie throughout the years. I love my books. They are my constant BFFs, compared to TV shows or movies. I never let my baby Kindle out of my sight, even when I leave the house. Just like last year, I have few rules regarding my favorite books read in 2012...

1) ALL books (regardless their publishing year) are included

2) I make two categories: male/male romance genre and NON male-male romance genre

3) For male/male romance genre, only the NOVEL length stories are considered as favorites. Novellas and short stories are considered as honorable mentions

4) No RANKING; this is favorite list rather than ranking list

Since LJ-cut doesn't seem to work, I am just going to provide link.

Favorite Non-MM Books Read In 2012
Right here

Honorable Mentions - MM Books Read In 2012
Right here

Favorite MM Books Read In 2012
Right here

... and just in case I don't visit LJ again until tomorrow

Source

052. Favorite Movies of 2012 ...

at_midnight — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 12:27:20 GMT

Statistics:
I watched 62 movies this year (better than last year, where I only watched 45 movies). However, out of the 62 movies, only 29 of them were released in 2012. AND, to be completely honest, I wasn't completely blown away by most of them. Which was such sad fact for me. Maybe I had totally lost interest in movies *sigh*. But anyway, here are my 5 Favorite Movies of 2012. In order of WHEN I watched them ...

... you would think I would put The Hobbit in there? But nope, I really liked it, but I wasn't blown away by it. Maybe by movie #2 or #3.

051. 'Tis the season to be jolly ...

at_midnight — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:43:48 GMT

To anyone who celebrate it ...

(Picture from Google)