What Happened Since May
Finally, we're reaching the last day of 2020. I usually found myself being in an absolute state of melancholy during the end of a year, but this time, boy, how I want to fast-forward into tomorrow! And it is such a bizarre feeling to have because, somehow, I also feel a great sense of gratitude when I think about this year: I cannot believe we can survive in ways that we do now. By the beginning of the pandemic, I can only hope to keep my mental health as manageable as possible. Right now, I am proud to say that, not only I've been writing this article, word-by-word to you, with a very clear and conscious mind; but also with an immensely peaceful and hopeful heart. I would never imagine that a year so dark and bitter would leave me feeling optimistic at the end, not even the slightest! But I guess, if the time is right, one can truly embrace a sign for a new beginning - a sign like today, where the last number of our year is about to change. The day we're eventually about to greet 2021 for the first time. It's the perfect time for a reflective post and, to make it more obvious, a list of explanation regarding why I didn't write anything since May. Shall we start?
1. I WORK OUT. AGAIN. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER
Trying to do my yoga pose with the judging dog.
Yes, after years of not "feeling" the call, I finally made a decision to work out. I wanted to do have a work out routine that's simple but significant, and upon my sister-in-law suggestion, I tried yoga for the first time. Well, not for the first time literally; I have joined some yoga sessions previously ever since I lived in Jakarta... but never mindfully, whole-heartedly. This time, due to the pandemic, I made private session arrangement with a yoga teacher that my in-laws refer. And after a month of training, I truly find the needed connection. Yoga is such a wonderful routine to do: it's calm and quiet, but also powerful; it's shaping your outside appearance but also helping you to welcome peace inside yourself, inwardly. It is now becoming the work out that I choose to do consistently. Within 5 months I managed to do a headstand on my own! Which for me was such an empowering moment after losing awareness over my body post-partum. I'm thankful that 2020 brought Yoga to my consciousness.
2. I BOUGHT MY FIRST PLANT, AND A HUNDRED MORE
Probably my most expensive plants so far beside my Orbifolia - this Syngonium Yellow “Variegata”.
My baby Orbifolia
This is my tiny urban jungle!
Yup, if you ever think "there's to many sudden plant parents out there because of the pandemic", that shall be referred to me. I'm the guilty one. Spending most of my time inside the house, I finally urged myself to buy a plant: tiny, three-leaves Pink Syngonium. My husband said if I can keep it alive for a month, I can pick another one after. I experienced a new motherly compassion when I saw my plant, well, not only surviving, but also thriving happily and growing new baby leaf within a week. That's the start. Afterwards, it's a crazy plant-hoarding period for me. I bought around a hundred of them, mostly for our garden (such as, ten pots of lovely baby roses, then another ten of tiny Miana...) and the rest are for my indoor "nursery". Now I don't buy as much plants anymore because we have enough already (thank God I know how to stop 😂😂😂).
3. I TOOK MY NEW BIKE AROUND THE CITY AND TRULY ENJOYING IT
Hello, please meet Eleanor!
From my recent trip with siphon, my best friend.
Across my favourite building in town.
Oh boy, yes, I also cycling. My husband bought me a vintage-inspired Polygon bycicle for my birthday last April, and she's the prettiest! I named her Eleanor Rigby. Just like the song, exactly. Ever since I got her, we regularly went cycling in the morning. From basic 10 kilos up to 50-sih kilos in record, apparently, cycling is amazing. To feel the fresh air and move the body in the morning when things are quiet. To see the nature slowly. To watch the morning sun slowly arise and shine upon the neighbourhood. Past mid-year, the number of people who went cycling was rising so high and I stopped going around on weekend. Now we're preparing to train Dia in a baby saddle-chair so we can cycle together in the morning as a family!
4. I RECONNECT WITH MY LOVE FOR FRAGRANCE
My Chloe selection next to a brand that I own most perfume from: Chanel, the one and only.
One of my recent Fragrance, gifted.
My long-time comfort pick: Daisy.
So basically... I have a lot of perfume in my wardrobe. But I never really aware about their beauty, mainly because I never got into the fragrance community before, and never paid attention to the detailing notes, who made the fragrance, etc. Then someday in June, I start buying vials online... you know, that little perfume sample packaging? Yup, it's being sold online now, for quite a price (really not bad if you got a lot of them for free). Since then, I met my friend Debby who are also deeply passionate about fragrance (so much that she made a dedicated fragrance-only account for that! Check her IG: @olfaxtory) and that interraction leads to endless adventure of reconnecting with my previous perfume collection. I used to have around 50-60 bottles, some are still seald inside the box; most of them bought during trips overseas (and many were in sale, I rarely bought one, always multiple, because of the price deals!). Now I have around a hundred of them that I take care waaaaayyy better, way more carefully than before. You will find upcoming fragrance-related articles in the coming future, all thanks to this incidental connection again!
5. I WENT TO THE DENTIST ONE DAY, AND THEY PUT ME ON BRACES
Aha! Can you spot the braces?
No kidding. I just turned 31 years-old last April and suddenly, I'm on braces. This was due to my previous ignorance: I was supposed to wear braces in high shcool, which I skipped until university, and skipped again because I thought: I didn't mind my teeth at all. How foolish I was to think that wearing braces were mainly purposed to have "a set of neat and beautiful teeth". It was mainly for health, because the reason I went to dentist in the first time was to check if I have any broken tooth, or whether one of my teeth got holes in it that gave me severe headache and pain. Turned out... my teeth alignment was pretty messed up, and a spesific tooth got grinded badly until it got *bent* into a certain position that creates *drama* to the other tooth and gum area. Their advice was for me to wear braces and slowly re-arrange my teeth until they're all well-balanced and not hurting one another. So I did. I chose the DAMON clear, which are amazing - faster progress and almost invisible. The dentist said I probably will have to wear mine for about one year and a half. It's down to one-more-year now!
6. I WROTE MY FIRST MAID OF HONOUR SPEECH
The bride and her Maid-of-Honor.
Ajeng and her husband, Febry.
This one with all of her bridesmaids.
So my best friend Ajeng... or @Anglaina, as some of you might familiar with, finally met the love of her life. And they tied the knot last August 2020! Her wedding also meant a parting for us, because she got to move to another city as well. So I got the chance to write and read my first Maid of Honor speech during the intimate ceremony... which ended up in low-key embrassment because since the beginning of letter I already cried like a brokenhearted teenager. This moment was one of my favorite happy memory in 2020 because my best friend finally got to build a family that she has dreamed about in her life. I truly pray they will be together, loving each other, forever.
7. I BUILT A PINK ROOM
Welcome to… my vintage pink parlour!
Look at my comfy daybed!
My working desk has never been prettier than this.
Well what's not typical anymore? I work out, I bike, I become a plant parent and now I renovate my house. The pandemic truly fit me into a stereotype. I guess the original idea was to build a working room for me, because since my husband had to WFH quite a lot, we need more *productive* space for each other. There's a small room beside our bedroom at that moment, still in my in-laws' house, that can be used for a multi-purpose storage or a new room at once. Somehow I was drawn to create my very first pink room. Maybe because of Pinterest? Maybe because I was curious, too. So short story after, I painted the whole room with pink, and called the space "The Changing Room". It's a metaphorical celebration for my me-time, for my multifaceted role post-marriage and post-partum. My husband helped me with the early renovation needs as well as sourcing mood and idea for the room as well. It took me about a month to finish the room, using some leftover materials and old furniture. After about three months, however, I had to leave the room entirely... because of the next reason below:
8. I (WELL, WE) *FINALLY* MOVE TO OUR NEW HOUSE
Our first Christmas in the new home, feeling so so very grateful.
Hello from my bath-time guard keeper, Jonah and Joni.
Yes, wonderful chapter to start last November. We finally got to move to our house, the one we've spent almost two years in the making. I haven't take any proper photos of our house really, beside this bathroom side and our main gate exterior. There's still many tasks to do around the house and we have decided to take things slowly, figuring things one by one, working on a reasonable budget during the progress. I promise I will make an *exclusive* preview of the house in this blog later! We still have so much to figure out, so much to learn, and we will embrace each of them deeply.
With those updates coming along, I don't have much to say except: goodbye, 2020. I hope we don't have to experience anything near to the pandemic ever again. And may we all be well, always in good spirit, always in good ability to take care for ourselves and those who we care the most.